Through the kindness of Mr. Chudleigh, one of the Chatham Island runholders who chanced to be in New Zealand at my departure, and of Mr. Kinsey, of Christchurch, I had brought

confusion of the world," could not be altogether an insupportable durance. My hopes rose that I might find here another such Arcadia as that charming out-of-the-world retreat in the Indian Ocean, the Keeling Islands, which I introductions to most of the settlers, have described elsewhere. Here, how- so that I found a pleasant welcome ever, the larger sphere, the greater among them, and was hospitably inscope for independent action, and the vited by Captain Hood, one of the different human elements, have evi- oldest residents and largest proprietors dently interacted differently, and I in Wharekauri, to make his house my found on close acquaintance with the headquarters. From him and from islands no such harmonious patri- several of the neighboring residents, archate; here we had simply a chip of especially Mr. Alexander Shand, who the colony of New Zealand floated off visited me several times during the into the Pacific. first few days when I was slowly recovRounding a bold headland, whose ering from the effects of my sea voyage, alternate beds of bright red and yellow | I received a great deal of very interestform a conspicuous blaze of color in the ing information. Mr. Hood had taken landscape, we dropped anchor a few yards off the shore in front of a high cliff, beneath which, on the beach, stood all that represented the town of Waitangi-a particularly cold and uninviting public-house, calling itself a hotel, and a less imposing weather- The Chatham Islands were discovboard structure incorporating the resi- ered by Lieutenant William Broughton, dent magistrate's court, the post-office, of "His Brittannick Majesty's brig and the jail. As the approximate date Chatham," when parted by a storm of our arrival was known, the shrill from the Discovery on the way to screech of our siren as we drew near Otaheite from New Zealand. The Disapprised the expectant population of covery and the Chatham were then conour presence, so that by the time the veying the expedition sent to explore Kahu dropped her anchor, quite a the north-west coast of North America, crowd, to join which others could be under command of Captain Vancouver. seen hurrying from all sides, had col-"We displayed the Union flag," the lected on the beach to watch our dis-lieutenant reports, "turned a turf, and embarkation and learn the news we took possession of the island, which I brought, for the arrival of the steamer is a real event in the lives of these people which few who have not lived for a time so cut off from the world can realize.

part in some of the more stirring events in the island's history, while Mr. Shand, who was born there, is perhaps the only living authority on the language and traditions of its now nearly extinct original inhabitants.

named Chatham Island (in honor of the Earl of Chatham), in the name of his Majesty King George the Third, the 29th of November, 1791." His visit was of short duration, for as the naThe date of my visit nearly coincided tives, who had never seen a ship before, with the centenary of the discovery of lost one of their number in resisting his the islands. It had been intended to landing, he was anxious not to be the celebrate this event with various festiv- cause of further troubles to them, and ities during the month of January; but so he left hastily without being able to the intention had to be abandoned, for gain much information about his new throughout the island the influenza epi- annexation. He describes the natives demic, not regarding their isolation, he saw as a "cheerful race, numerous had attacked almost every inhabitant and healthy, full of mirth and laughter, and the natives very fatally so that dressed in sealskins or mats, and courathere was no energy left among them to geous enough to resist his landing." carry out their programme. They called themselves Tuiti, so Dief

fenbach tells us, but the name by this service the whole of the present
which they are best known now, and site of Wellington City, to-day worth
the term by which they speak of them- millions sterling, for that block of land
selves, is Moriori. Some years after was the recompense they first offered.
their discovery, the islands became the The relatives of that officer, I suspect,
rendezvous of the English and Ameri- rather regret now his inability to fore-
can sealing and whaling fleets in the see the future. The number of Maoris
South Pacific - a disastrous circum- eager to emigrate to the Chatham Isl-
stance in the history of the natives. ands was found too large for the Lord
These vessels had from time to time Rodney to accommodate at one time;
among their crews numbers of Maoris so, to insure the vessel's return for
(the natives of New Zealand), whom those left behind, the mate was de-
they had engaged in various capacities tained in New Zealand as a hostage.
in that colony. About the year 1834 it The Lord Rodney landed her first load
so happened that there were serving on of immigrants, numbering five hundred
board one of these whalers which had persons, on the 17th November, 1835,
touched at Wharekauri, the chiefs of and in December following the captain
two Maori tribes who were then occu- completed his enforced contract by put-
pying the district where the city of ting the remaining four hundred on
Wellington now stands, and who, hav- shore at the same port. These well-
ing been driven thither from their an- armed and powerful intruders seem to
cestral regions by the more powerful have walked boldly ashore, and, un-
Waikato tribe, were living in much dis-opposed, parted the land among them,
content. What they saw during the and enslaved the Morioris, glad to find
voyage greatly impressed them, and on that the country was really full of kai-
their return they dilated to their people | kai, or eatables, as they had been told.
on this "island to the eastward teem- In 1840 the group was visited by the
ing with land and sea birds of all kinds,
mutton birds in crowds in holes in the
peat, and albatrosses innumerable in
the outlying rocks, with fish abundant
along the coast, and eels swarming in
the lakes. On the land there were for-
ests of karaka-trees, while the inhab-fore likened themselves to the koriari,
itants were numerous, possessed of no
weapons, and ignorant of how to fight."
This was evidently to them all in their
dejected frame of mind a land much to
be desired and eagerly to be coveted,
but one which they could little hope to
reach in their own canoes. Fortune,
however, seemed to favor them by
sending at this juncture a trading ves-
sel, the Lord Rodney, to their very
doors. They saw their opportunity
and took advantage of it. Enticing the
captain to Somes Island on pretence of
treating with him for a freight of flax
lying there, they made him a prisoner,
and under threat of death compelled
him to agree to transport them to the
Chatham Islands. On their side they
bound themselves to supply the ship at
their cost with a full freight; but the
captain might have had in payment for

New Zealand Company's agent, Mr. Hanson, in the Cuba, accompanied by Dr. Dieffenbach, the celebrated naturalist, who afterwards wrote a history of New Zealand. This observer records that the Morioris, who a few years be

66

or flax-stalks in number, or to the young
of the wild grey duck on the great
lagoon, had at the date of his visit
decreased to less than ninety souls by
their five years of slavery. They are
the laborers," he says,
"and porters of
their masters, who have no notion of
anything like moderation in the labor
they exact; so that ulcerated backs
bent almost double, and emaciated
paralytic limbs with diseased lungs, are
the ordinary lot of these ill-fated
wretches." The Kaupepe, as the Mori-
oris called their oppressors, had not
only used them as beasts of burden, but
as their stalled cattle. The dying rem-
nants of the race still tell of that dread-
ful time when as many as fifty of their
ancestors were roasted in a single oven ;
and when the ghastly sight of the shore
laid out with the dead bodies of their

The interest of the island annals culminates in the exciting episode of the escape of the rebel Te Kooti and his fellow-exiles. Sitting within sight of the scene of the occurrence, I recalled the narrative, told me by an actor in the drama, with the keenest interest, and I believe the story will bear repeating to my readers.

men, women, and children, sometimes | each of them a grant of land, with imfor a length of a quarter of a mile, plements and seed, had been made to might be witnessed. The few Morioris begin an agricultural life on the island that still survive may almost be counted where they must continue to live, the on the fingers of the hands. The news was received with what looked Maori population is also fast decreasing like the silence of respect. One old through disease and drink. Still they chief alone spoke, and in the stately own a number of farms, and derive fair manner, and with the inscrutable counprofits from the export of wool, and tenance, for which the Maoris are disfrom the curing of young sea-fowl – tinguished, he replied: "The words mutton birds and albatrosses - whose of our master are excellent." Not a inexhaustible nesting-places on the sur- word or a gesture of dissatisfaction was rounding rocks they yearly visit for the expressed or evident, and indeed so purpose. little was any such feeling among them suspected, that the garrison was withdrawn almost immediately to New Zealand, only a man or two being retained to look after the undismantled redoubt, with, it is difficult to believe, sixty stand of arms and fourteen thousand rounds of ammunition practically unguarded within it. As the troops sailed away out of the bay it was a peaceful At the close of the first Maori war a picture on which their eyes rested number of the leaders in the rebellion, the deserted redoubt facing them on among whom Te Kooti was the most the top of the cliff over against the important and dangerous, were ban- anchorage, the Union Jack fluttering at ished to the Chatham Islands under its pole, and the apathetic Hauhaus guard of a small English garrison. Te squatting round it on the ground, watchKooti, besides being a chief of high ing with unsuspected interest this, to rank, was also the recognized head and them, momentous departure, while on revered high priest of the Hauhau reli- the beach the usual crowd of Eurogion, a fanatical bastardy of Christian-peans and natives had congregated to ity, which had taken and still retains a speed the parting vessel. "I had been strong hold on the Maori mind. After on a visit to New Zealand," to continue a short period of stricter surveillance, in the graphic words of Mr. Chudleigh, these prisoners were, on account of "and returned here on board the Rifletheir docile bearing, gradually treated man, on her voyage subsequent to the with less and less rigor. Their con- removal of the garrison. As we dropped tinued exemplary conduct brought them anchor a boat, manned by Hauhaus, wider privileges, till they enjoyed the was as usual brought alongside, in liberty of the whole main island during which was a youth with whom I had the day, having only to present them-long been very friendly. Although he selves within the redoubt at nightfall well knew that Waitangi was not the - their imprisonment being indeed port for my station, he, with an inlittle more than a formality. After a sistance I could not understand, begged few years of this apparently quietly permission to land my belongings, accepted exile, the government deter- which I refused to give, for the vessel, mined, against better advice, to grant as I pointed out to him, was going them their full liberty, but without the round to my own port next day in the right to return to New Zealand. Ac-ordinary course. 'Better take what cordingly they were assembled together, you can, sir, there are many dangers in and on the decision of the government the bay,' he repeated. I again debeing communicated to them that they clined, but changing my mind, I sent were once more free men, and that to him for my handbag in which was a

say the word, sir, and have the rest with you,' he urged once more, as he handed it over the side. If I could then only have caught his meaning! But I was quite unsuspicious, and my well-wisher, evidently privy to the conspiracy that had been formed, dared not be more explicit.

considerable sum of money. 'Just not been so serious would have been intensely ludicrous. We were trampled on, kicked, and rolled over and over till our bodies were black and bruised and covered with dirt. Finding in this scrimmage a bare leg across my mouth, I lost my temper and fastened my teeth well in it. Our contest, however, was too unequal to last long and we were both finally overpowered and with our hands tied to our feet we were laid on the beach. My little ebullition of temper all but cost me my life, for the fellow whose leg I had bitten was not unnaturally very furious, and having possessed himself of a rope, he ennoosed my neck and with his foot against my back did his best to strangle me; but I fortunately managed to release one hand and thrust it between the rope and my head. My assailant then with his foot on my face attempted to dislodge my arm, but I had got my fingers so well between my teeth that his efforts resulted only in the tearing of their sinews. Finding it impossible to strangle me he next seized the coulter of one of the ploughs lying on the beach and intended for the use of the Hauhaus, and lunged at my head. Luckily the Maoris have a habit of brandishing a weapon before striking, and I was able to dodge several of his blows. While he was swinging it in the air for what I felt must be for me the last time, I saw his hand scized and a revolver presented at his face by one of his own people, who, having seen the attack from the redoubt hastened to my rescue; for it appeared that strict orders had been given by Te Kooti that none of the officials or European residents should be injured in person. My cords were cut and I was carried bleeding to the courthouse. A few minutes later a company of the rebels, as well drilled as our own troops, was marched up by Baker, a handsome half-caste, one of Te Kooti's lieutenants, and I was conducted to jail, where I found many of my fellow-islanders already lodged. This man Baker was the most intelligent and the cruellest of all Te Kooti's officers. He had received an excellent education in one of the mis

"Next day, while occupied in the court-house with Captain Mchecking the government accounts, one of the long-shore loafers staggering in from the public-house called out to us, 'You'd better sec what's going on at the redoubt, if you're wise men.' Knowing the fellow we ordered him out at once. Very well,' he hiccuped as he took himself off, don't you blame me for not telling you.' Something in the man's face struck me, and I sent the interpreter to see if anything was taking place. He presently hastened back to say that the Hauhaus were in possession of the redoubt. We both hurried out just in time to see the English flag coming down and Te Kooti's being run up the flag-pole under a salute of musketry. Captain M- rushed to the redoubt in the hope of staying the revolt, but as he approached, he was repulsed by a volley out of which he escaped with only a scratch. I ran to the shore to find the master of the Rifleman and order him to slip his cable and keep off and on the coast, for if the vessel were safe the Hauhaus could effect very little. The boatmen, who were Hauhaus, without actually refusing, began excusing themselves from taking him on board. As a matter of fact everything had been well planned and the Rifleman was already in possession of the rebels. As I was disputing with them a harmless volley was fired from the redoubt, evidently the signal for action. In a moment more the master of the Rifleman and I were on our backs fighting and struggling. Fortunately the Hauhaus were so excited that they scarcely knew what they were really doing. While they thought they were assisting each other, they were in reality struggling more with each other than with us, and the scuffle if it had

sion schools, he could speak and write | sacrificed to the spirits of the ocean.