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JOHN RUTHERFORD, THE WHITE CHIEF
A Story of Adventure in New Zealand
Edited by
JAMES DRUMMOND, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
[Illustration: John Rutherford. From an original drawing taken in
1828.]
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XIII.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
John Rutherford
A Maori's shoulder mat
Short striking weapons (clubs) used by the Maoris
Kororareka Beach, in the Bay of Islands, where some of
Rutherford's adventures are supposed to have taken place
A door-lintel, showing Maori carving
"Moko" on a man's face and on a woman's lips and chin
Two Maori Chiefs--Te Puni, or "Greedy," and Wharepouri,
or "Dark House"
Scene in a New Zealand Forest
Flute of bone
A waist-mat
Stone implements used by Maoris for cutting hair
Carved boxes
Greenstone axes, with carved wooden bandies, and ornamented
with dogs' hair and birds' feathers
Long striking and thrusting weapons used by the Maoris
A Maori war-canoe
INTRODUCTION.
Eighty years ago, when the story told in these pages was first
published, "forecastle yarns" were more thrilling than they are now. In
these days we look for information in regard to a new land's
capabilities for pastoral, agricultural, and commercial pursuits; in
those days it was customary, with a large portion of the British public,
at any rate, to expect sailors to tell stories
Of the cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi, and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders,
and to relate other particulars likely to arrest the attention and
excite the imagination. Men then sailed to unknown lands, peopled by
unknown barbarians, and their adventures in strange and mysterious
countries were clothed in a romance which has been almost completely
dispelled by the telegraph, the newspaper press, cheap books, and rapid
transit, and by the utilitarian ideas which have swept over the world.
It was largely to meet the public taste for something wonderful and
striking that John Rutherford's story of adventures in New Zealand saw
the light of publicity. In fairness to the original editor and the
publisher, however, it should be stated that the story was given also as
a means of supplying interesting information in regard to a country and
a race of which very little was then known. It was embodied in a book of
400 pages, entitled "The New Zealanders," published in 1830, for the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, by the famous publisher,
Charles Knight.
He was a versatile, talented, and ambitious man; but all his ambitions
ran in the direction of the public good. From the time of his early
manhood, he wished to become a public instructor. At first he tried to
achieve his end by means of journalism, which he entered in 1812, by
reporting Parliamentary debates for "The Globe" and "The British Press,"
two London journals. Later on he started a publishing business in
London. Dealing only with instructive subjects, he established "Knight's
Quarterly Magazine," and other periodicals, to which he was one of the
prominent contributors.
He was not a business man, and in 1828 he was overwhelmed by financial
difficulties. In the meantime he had become acquainted with the
brilliant but erratic Lord Brougham, who had completed arrangements for
putting into operation one of his great enterprises for educating the
masses. This was the establishment of the Society for the Diffusion of
Useful Knowledge. It began a series of publications under the title of
"The Library of Entertaining Knowledge," which Knight published. The
first volume, written by Knight himself, was "The Menageries"; the
second was "The New Zealanders." Other publications were issued by the
society until it was dissolved in 1846. Knight continued to send works
out of the press nearly to the end of his useful life, in March, 1873.
Some of these were written by himself, some by friends, and some were
translations. His "Penny Magazine," at the end of its first year, had a
sale of 200,000 copies. Amongst his other publications are Lane's
"Arabian Nights," "The Pictorial Bible," "The Pictorial History of
England," and--the object of his highest ambition--"The Pictorial
Shakespeare." In "Passages of a Working Life," he wrote his own
biography. In spite of his strenuous life he died a poor man. He was an
enthusiast, but his impetuous nature induced him to attempt to carry out
his schemes before they had matured. He had a quick temper and an
eloquent tongue. The esteem in which he was held by his friends is shown
by the admirable jest with which Douglas Jerrold took leave of him one
evening at a social gathering. "Good Knight," Jerrold said.
The "New Zealanders" was published anonymously, and for many years the
authorship was attributed to Lord Brougham. There is no doubt now,
however, that the author was George Lillie Craik, a scholar and a man of
letters. He was born at Kennoway, Fife, in 1798. He studied at St.
Andrew's, and went through a divinity course, but never applied to be
licensed as a preacher. Like Knight, he was attracted by journalism,
which he regarded as a means of instructing the public. When he was only
twenty years of age he was editor of "The Star," a local newspaper. In
London he adopted authorship as a profession. In 1849, he was appointed
Professor of English Literature and History at the Queen's College,
Belfast, and later on, although he still resided at Belfast, he became
examiner for the Indian Civil Service. All his literary work is
distinguished by careful research. Perhaps his best effort is
represented by "The Pursuit of Knowledge Under Difficulties," published
in the same year as "The New Zealanders." With a colleague he edited
"The Pictorial History of England," in four volumes. Amongst his other
works are "A Romance of the Peerage," "Spencer and his Poetry," "A
History of Commerce," "The English of Shakespeare," and "Bacon, his
Writings and Philosophy." He had a flowing and cultured style, and he
embellished his work with many references to the classics. He was one of
the best read men of his time. His extensive reading and the simplicity
of his style made him a very welcome contributor to the "Penny
Magazine," the "Penny Cyclopædia," and other popular publications. He
had a paralytic stroke while lecturing in Belfast in February, 1866,
and he died in June of the same year. It is said of him that he was
popular with students and welcome in society.
It is not known if Craik met Rutherford. He probably did not. He may
have had "The New Zealanders" partly written when the manuscript
describing Rutherford's adventures was placed in his hands. In that
case, he wove it into his book, using it as a means of illustrating his
remarks on the Maoris' customs. His work bears the stamp of honesty and
industrious care. He collected all the information dealing with New
Zealand available at the time, and he produced a fairly large book,
which, for many years after it was published, must have been a valuable
contribution to the public's store of "entertaining knowledge."
Rutherford, as his narrative shows, was ten years amongst the Maoris. He
was an ignorant sailor. He could not write, and the account of his
adventures, it is explained, was dictated to a friend while he was on
the voyage back to England. Craik says that if allowance is made for
some grammatical solecisms, the story, as it appeared in the manuscript,
was told with great clearness, and sometimes with considerable spirit.
Knight evidently knew him, as it is stated in "The New Zealanders" that
"the publisher of this volume had many conversations with him when he
was exhibited in London." It is probable, too, that Brougham knew him.
Brougham, indeed, may have "discovered" him and introduced him to
Knight. Rutherford was just the kind of man in whose company Brougham
delighted to spend hours. He would listen to the recital of the
thrilling adventures with the Maoris with breathless interest. A story
told of the madcap days of Brougham's youth gives some idea of the
welcome he would extend to Rutherford. One evening, after Brougham and
some other gay spirits had supped together in London, they saw a mob of
idle scoundrels beating an unfortunate woman with brutal ferocity. The
young fellows went to her rescue. Their interference increased the
tumult, and all the watchmen in the neighbourhood were soon about their
ears. In return for their chivalry they were lodged in the watch-house.
Amongst their fellow-prisoners there was an old sailor, who sat cowering
over the embers of the fire. He had been in the American War. Brougham
picked up an acquaintance with him, and all night long the young man
held the old one in conversation, ascertaining the strength of the
forces in the engagements, the scenes of the battles, the nature of the
manoeuvres, the advances and reverses, and so on, until his
avariciousness for knowledge was satisfied.
Neither Brougham nor Knight, nor even Craik, had sufficient means of
testing the accuracy of Rutherford's story. Unfortunately there are many
points on which the narrative is not only inaccurate but misleading.
Craik concludes that Poverty Bay, where Cook first landed in New
Zealand, is the scene of the capture of the "Agnes." Rutherford,
however, gives the name as "Tokomardo." This corresponds with a bay some
miles further north, and about forty miles from the East Cape. The
Maoris call it Tokomaru, which Rutherford evidently intended. His
description of the place might represent Tokomaru almost as well as
Poverty Bay. The strangest part of the affair, however, is that the
Maoris on that coast have no knowledge whatever of the "Agnes," the
vessel which, according to Rutherford, was captured in the bay he
describes. Eighty years ago the arrival of a vessel at New Zealand was
an advent of the utmost importance. The news spread throughout the land
with surprising rapidity, and whole tribes flocked to the port to see
the "Pakehas" and trade for their iron implements and guns. The Maoris
of the district know of three white men, whom they called Riki, Punga,
and Tapore, who lived amongst them for some time in the early days,
before colonization began; but they have no knowledge of Rutherford. The
chiefs to whom Rutherford frequently refers did not belong to that
district. The chief who takes the principal part in the story, "Aimy,"
cannot be traced. The name is spelt wrongly, and it is difficult to
supply a Maori name that the spelling in the book might represent. This
is surprising, as the Maoris are very careful in regard to their
genealogical records.[A] While Rutherford was in New Zealand some
terrible slaughters took place in the Poverty Bay district, but he does
not refer to these, although they must have been one of the principal
subjects of conversation amongst the Maoris for months, perhaps years.
Near the end of the narrative, Rutherford gives an account of a great
battle, in which the chief Hongi was a prominent figure. His description
of what took place is incorrect in several respects. Victory went to
Hongi, not, as Rutherford says, to the people of Kaipara and their
allies, although they were victorious in the first skirmish. The battle
is known as Te Ika-a-rangi-nui, that is the Great Fish of the Sky or the
Milky Way, and it took place in February, 1825. As Rutherford states,
Hongi was present, and wore the famous coat of mail armour which had
been given to him by His Majesty King George IV. when he was in England
in 1820. The strife was caused not by an attempt to steal Hongi's
armour, as Rutherford suggests, but by a thirst for revenge for the
death of a chief of the Nga-Puhi tribe, to which Hongi belonged. The
chief Whare-umu, evidently identical with "Ewarree-hum" in Rutherford's
narrative, did not belong to the party that Rutherford was connected
with; he was related to the man whose murder was avenged, and seems to
have been Hongi's first lieutenant. Some authorities, notably Bishop
Williams, of Waiapu,[B] and Mr. Percy Smith,[C] believe that Rutherford
was not present at the battle, and that he obtained all his information
from others. Bishop Williams, who knows the Poverty Bay district as well
as anyone, has come to the conclusion that Rutherford must have spent
his years in New Zealand in the Bay of Islands district; and Mr Percy
Smith, in a letter to me, says that he has always entertained the idea
that Rutherford was one of the men taken when the schooner "Brothers"
was attacked at Kennedy Bay in 1815. Bishop Williams sets up the theory
that Rutherford was a deserter from a vessel which visited New Zealand,
that he induced the Maoris to tattoo him in order that he might escape
detection after he had returned to civilization, and that he concocted
the story of the capture of the "Agnes" to account for his reappearance
amongst Europeans. The weakness of this theory is that he evidently did
not object to publicity, and that the tattooing would make him a
conspicuous man who could not avoid public attention. If Bishop Williams
is right in assuming that Rutherford wished to escape detection, he
took the very best course to defeat his object.
Whatever Rutherford's object may have been, and whether he deceived the
author and publisher of "The New Zealanders," or merely erred through
ignorance and lack of observation, there is no doubt that he spent some
years with the Maoris in the northern part of New Zealand. His tattooed
face is sufficient evidence of that. The pattern is the Maori "moko."
The tattooing on his breast, stomach, and arms, however, is not the work
of Maoris; that was done, probably, by natives at some of the islands,
or by sailors. I hardly think that those who read the narrative will
agree with Bishop Williams's opinion that it is "a mere romance." It is
more like the story of an ignorant, unobservant, careless sailor, who
entertained no idea that any importance would be attached to his
statements. Many mistakes were probably made in the work of dictating
the narrative to a fellow-sailor. If Rutherford had been bent upon
making a romantic story, he would have told it in a different form.
There is no straining after effect in the manuscript reproduced by
Craik. The faults are inaccuracies, not exaggerations. Some excuse may
be found for Rutherford's mistakes in the description of the battle Te
Ika-a-rangi-nui in the fact that modern Maori scholars cannot agree on
important details, there being differences of opinion in regard to
even the year in which the battle was fought.
[Illustration: A Maori's shoulder mat _Christchurch Museum_.]
It is felt that, with all its blemishes, the story has a good claim to
be included in the list of New Zealand works that are now being
reprinted by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs, to whom the people of New
Zealand are deeply indebted. When Mr. Whitcombe first asked me to edit
Rutherford's story for his firm, I proposed to take it alone, leaving
out all the rest of Craik's work in "The New Zealanders." On reading the
book again I came to the conclusion that many of Craik's remarks,
although discursive at times, are sufficiently interesting to be read
now, and I have included in the reprint a large portion of his original
writings. I have retained his spelling of Maori words, but have made
many corrections in footnotes. The book is not sent out as an authentic
account of the Maoris. "The New Zealanders" was the first book that
attempted to deal with them, and it has been superseded by many which
have been written in the light of more extensive knowledge, and in them
students will find results of much patient study and research.
JAMES DRUMMOND.
Christchurch,
February 13th, 1908.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote A: At my request, Mr. S. Percy Smith, the author of "Hawaiki,
the Original Home of the Maori," endeavoured to trace "Aimy," but even
his extensive knowledge of the Maori language and tribal histories
failed to bring that man to light. Mr. Smith explains that "Ai" in
Rutherford's spelling represents "E," a vocative, in the accepted method
of spelling, and "my" represents "mai." The two words, combined, would
be "E Mai." In this way, "Mai's" attention would be called. But "Mai"
may be the first, second, or third syllable of a man's name, according
to euphony. The name supplied in the narrative, therefore, is no guide
in a search for Rutherford's friendly chief.]
[Footnote B: Transactions New Zealand Institute, volume xxiii., page
453.]
[Footnote C: "Journal of the Polynesian Society," volume x., page 35.]
JOHN RUTHERFORD
THE WHITE CHIEF.
CHAPTER I.
John Rutherford, according to his own account, was born at Manchester
about the year 1796. He went to sea, he states, when he was hardly more
than ten years of age, having up to that time been employed as a piecer
in a cotton factory in his native town; and after that he appears to
have been but little in England, or even on shore, for many years.
He served for a considerable time on board a man-of-war off the coast of
Brazil; and was afterwards at the storming of San Sebastian, in August,
1813. On coming home from Spain, he entered himself on board another
king's ship, bound for Madras, in which he afterwards proceeded to China
by the east passage, and lay for about a year at Macao.
In the course of this voyage his ship touched at several islands in the
great Indian Archipelago, among others at the Bashee Islands,[D] which
have been rarely visited. On his return from the east he embarked on
board a convict vessel bound for New South Wales; and afterwards made
two trading voyages among the islands of the South Sea.
It was in the course of the former of these that he first saw New
Zealand, the vessel having touched at the Bay of Islands, on her way
home to Port Jackson.
His second trading voyage in those seas was made in the "Magnet," a
three-masted schooner, commanded by Captain Vine; but this vessel having
put in at Owhyhee,[E] Rutherford fell sick and was left on that island.
Having recovered, however, in about a fortnight, he was taken on board
the "Agnes," an American brig of six guns and fourteen men, commanded by
Captain Coffin, which was then engaged in trading for pearl and
tortoiseshell among the islands of the Pacific.
This vessel, after having touched at various other places, on her return
from Owhyhee, approached the east coast of New Zealand, intending to put
in for refreshments at the Bay of Islands.
Rutherford states in his journal that this event, which was to him of
such importance, occurred on March 6th, 1816. They first came in sight
of the Barrier Islands, some distance to the south of the port for which
they were making. They accordingly directed their course to the north;
but they had not got far on their way when it began to blow a gale from
the north-east, which, being aided by a current, not only made it
impossible for them to proceed to the Bay of Islands, but even carried
them past the mouth of the Thames. It lasted for five days, and when it
abated they found themselves some distance to the south of a high point
of land, which, from Rutherford's description, there can be no doubt
must have been that to which Captain Cook gave the name of East Cape.
Rutherford calls it sometimes the East, and sometimes the South-East
Cape, and describes it as the highest part of the coast. It lies nearly
in latitude 37° 42' S.
The land directly opposite to them was indented by a large bay. This the
captain was very unwilling to enter, believing that no ship had ever
anchored in it before. We have little doubt, however, that this was the
very bay into which Cook first put, on his arrival on the coasts of New
Zealand, in the beginning of October, 1769. He called it Poverty Bay,
and found it to lie in latitude 38° 42' S. The bay in which Rutherford
now was must have been at least very near this part of the coast; and
his description answers exactly to that which Cook gives of Poverty Bay.
It was, says Rutherford, in the form of a half-moon, with a sandy beach
round it, and at its head a fresh-water river, having a bar across its
mouth, which makes it navigable only for boats. He mentions also the
height of the land which forms its sides. All these particulars are
noticed by Cook. Even the name given to it by the natives, as reported
by the one, is not so entirely unlike that stated by the other, as to
make it quite improbable that the two are merely the same word
differently misrepresented. Cook writes it Taoneroa, and Rutherford
Takomardo. The slightest examination of the vocabularies of barbarous
tongues, which have been collected by voyagers and travellers, will
convince every one of the extremely imperfect manner in which the ear
catches sounds to which it is unaccustomed, and of the mistakes to which
this and other causes give rise, in every attempt which is made to take
down the words of a language from the native pronunciation, by a person
who does not understand it.
Reluctant as the captain was to enter this bay, from his ignorance of
the coast, and the doubts he consequently felt as to the disposition of
the inhabitants, they at last determined to stand in for it, as they had
great need of water, and did not know when the wind might permit them to
get to the Bay of Islands.
They came to anchor, accordingly, off the termination of a reef of
rocks, immediately under some elevated land, which formed one of the
sides of the bay. As soon as they had dropped anchor, a great many
canoes came off to the ship from every part of the bay, each containing
about thirty women, by whom it was paddled. Very few men made their
appearance that day; but many of the women remained on board all night,
employing themselves chiefly in stealing whatever they could lay their
hands on. Their conduct greatly alarmed the captain, and a strict watch
was kept during the night.
The next morning one of the chiefs came on board, whose name they were
told was Aimy, in a large war-canoe, about sixty feet long, and carrying
above a hundred of the natives, all provided with quantities of mats and
fishing-lines, made of the strong white flax[F] of the country, with
which they professed to be anxious to trade with the crew.
After this chief had been for some time on board, it was agreed that he
should return to the land, with some others of his tribe, in the ship's
boat, to procure a supply of water. This arrangement the captain was
very anxious to make, as he was averse from allowing any of the crew to
go on shore, wishing to keep them all on board for the protection of the
ship.
In due time the boat returned, laden with water, which was immediately
hoisted on board; and the chief and his men were despatched a second
time on the same errand. Meanwhile, the rest of the natives continued to
take pigs to the ship in considerable numbers; and by the close of the
day about two hundred had been purchased, together with a quantity of
fern-root to feed them on.
Up to this time, therefore, no hostile disposition had been manifested
by the savages; and their intercourse with the ship had been carried on
with every appearance of friendship and cordiality, if we except the
propensity they had shown to pilfer a few of the tempting rarities
exhibited to them by their civilised visitors. Their conduct as to this
matter ought perhaps to be taken rather as an evidence that they had not
as yet formed any design of attacking the vessel, as they would, in that
case, scarcely have taken the trouble of stealing a small part of what
they meant immediately to seize upon altogether. On the other hand, such
an infraction of the rules of hospitality would not have accorded with
that system of insidious kindness by which it is their practice to lull
the suspicions of those whom they are on the watch to destroy.
During the night, however, the thieving was renewed, and carried to a
more alarming extent, inasmuch as it was found in the morning that some
of the natives had not only stolen the lead off the ship's stern, but
had also cut away many of the ropes, and carried them off in their
canoes. It was not till daybreak, too, that the chief returned with his
second cargo of water; and it was then observed that the ship's boat he
had taken with him leaked a great deal; on which the carpenter examined
her, and found that a great many of the nails had been drawn out of her
planks.
About the same time, Rutherford detected one of the natives in the act
of stealing the dipson lead,--"which, when I took it from him," says he,
"he grinded his teeth and shook his tomahawk at me."
"The captain," he continues, "now paid the chief for fetching the water,
giving him two muskets, and a quantity of powder and shot, arms and
ammunition being the only articles these people will trade for.
"There were at this time about three hundred of the natives on the deck,
with Aimy, the chief, in the midst of them; every man was armed with a
green stone, slung with a string around his waist. This weapon they call
a 'mery,'[G] the stone being about a foot long, flat, and of an oblong
shape, having both edges sharp, and a handle at the end. They use it for
the purpose of killing their enemies, by striking them on the head.
"Smoke was now observed rising from several of the hills; and the
natives appearing to be mustering on the beach from every part of the
bay, the captain grew much afraid, and desired us to loosen the sails,
and make haste down to get our dinners, as he intended to put to sea
immediately. As soon as we had dined, we went aloft, and I proceeded to
loosen the jib. At this time, none of the crew was on deck except the
captain and the cook, the chief mate being employed in loading some
pistols at the cabin table.
"The natives seized this opportunity of commencing an attack upon the
ship. First, the chief threw off the mat which he wore as a cloak, and,
brandishing a tomahawk in his hand, began a war-song, when all the rest
immediately threw off their mats likewise, and, being entirely naked,
began to dance with such violence that I thought they would have stove
in the ship's deck.
"The captain, in the meantime, was leaning against the companion, when
one of the natives went unperceived behind him, and struck him three or
four blows on the head with a tomahawk, which instantly killed him. The
cook, on seeing him attacked, ran to his assistance, but was immediately
murdered in the same manner.
"I now sat down on the jib-boom, with tears in my eyes, and trembling
with terror.
"Here I next saw the chief mate come running up the companion ladder,
but before he reached the deck he was struck on the back of the neck in
the same manner as the captain and the cook had been. He fell with the
blow, but did not die immediately.
"A number of the natives now rushed in at the cabin door, while others
jumped down through the skylight, and others were employed in cutting
the lanyards of the rigging of the stays. At the same time, four of our
crew jumped overboard off the foreyard, but were picked up by some
canoes that were coming from the shore, and immediately bound hand and
foot.
"The natives now mounted the rigging, and drove the rest of the crew
down, all of whom were made prisoners. One of the chiefs beckoned to me
to come to him, which I immediately did, and surrendered myself. We were
then put all together into a large canoe, our hands being tied; and the
New Zealanders, searching us, took from us our knives, pipes,
tobacco-boxes, and various other articles. The two dead bodies, and the
wounded mate, were thrown into the canoe along with us. The mate groaned
terribly, and seemed in great agony, the tomahawk having cut two inches
deep into the back of his neck; and all the while one of the natives,
who sat in the canoe with us, kept licking the blood from the wound with
his tongue. Meantime, a number of women who had been left in the ship
had jumped overboard, and were swimming to the shore, after having cut
her cable, so that she drifted, and ran aground on the bar near the
mouth of the river. The natives had not sense to shake the reefs out of
the sails, but had chopped them off along the yards with their
tomahawks, leaving the reefed part behind.
"The pigs, which we had bought from them, were, many of them, killed on
board, and carried ashore dead in the canoes, and others were thrown
overboard alive, and attempted to swim to the land; but many of them
were killed in the water by the natives, who got astride on their backs,
and then struck them on the head with their merys. Many of the canoes
came to the land loaded with plunder from the ship; and numbers of the
natives quarrelled about the division of the spoil, and fought and slew
each other. I observed, too, that they broke up our water-casks for the
sake of the iron hoops.
"While all this was going on, we were detained in the canoe; but at
last, when the sun was set, they conveyed us on shore to one of the
villages, where they tied us by the hands to several small trees. The
mate had expired before we got on shore, so that there now remained only
twelve of us alive. The three dead bodies were then brought forward, and
hung up by the heels to the branch of a tree, in order that the dogs
might not get at them. A number of large fires were also kindled on the
beach, for the purpose of giving light to the canoes, which were
employed all night in going backward and forward between the shore and
the ship, although it rained the greater part of the time.
"Gentle reader," Rutherford continues, "we will now consider the sad
situation we were in; our ship lost, three of our companions already
killed, and the rest of us tied each to a tree, starving with hunger,
wet, and cold, and knowing that we were in the hands of cannibals.
"The next morning, I observed that the surf had driven the ship over the
bar, and she was now in the mouth of the river, and aground near the end
of the village. Everything being now out of her, about ten o'clock in
the morning they set fire to her; after which they all mustered together
on an unoccupied piece of ground near the village, where they remained
standing for some time; but at last they all sat down except five, who
were chiefs, for whom a large ring was left vacant in the middle. The
five chiefs, of whom Aimy was one, then approached the place where we
were, and after they had stood consulting for some time, Aimy released
me and another, and, taking us into the middle of the ring, made signs
for us to sit down, which we did. In a few minutes, the other four
chiefs came also into the ring, bringing along with them four more of
our men, who were made to sit down beside us.
"The chiefs now walked backward and forward in the ring with their merys
in their hands, and continued talking together for some time, but we
understood nothing of what they said. The rest of the natives were all
the while very silent, and seemed to listen to them with great
attention. At length, one of the chiefs spoke to one of the natives who
was seated on the ground, and the latter immediately rose, and, taking
his tomahawk in his hand, went and killed the other six men who were
tied to the trees. They groaned several times as they were struggling in
the agonies of death, and at every groan the natives burst out in great
fits of laughter.
"We could not refrain from weeping for the sad fate of our comrades, not
knowing, at the same time, whose turn it might be next. Many of the
natives, on seeing our tears, laughed aloud, and brandished their merys
at us.
"Some of them now proceeded to dig eight large round holes, each about a
foot deep, into which they afterwards put a great quantity of dry wood,
and covered it over with a number of stones. They then set fire to the
wood, which continued burning till the stones became red hot. In the
meantime, some of them were employed in stripping the bodies of my
deceased shipmates, which they afterwards cut up, for the purpose of
cooking them, having first washed them in the river, and then brought
them and laid them down on several green boughs which had been broken
off the trees and spread on the ground, near the fires, for that
purpose.
"The stones being now red hot, the largest pieces of the burning wood
were pulled from under them and thrown away, and some green bushes,
having been first dipped in water, were laid round their edges, while
they were at the same time covered over with a few green leaves. The
mangled bodies were then laid upon the top of the leaves, with a
quantity of leaves also strewed over them; and after this a straw mat
was spread over the top of each hole. Lastly, about three pints of water
were poured upon each mat, which, running through to the stones, caused
a great steam, and then the whole was instantly covered with earth.
"They afterwards gave us some roasted fish to eat, and three women were
employed in roasting fern-root for us. When they had roasted it, they
laid it on a stone, and beat it with a piece of wood, until it became
soft like dough. When cold again, however, it becomes hard, and snaps
like gingerbread. We ate but sparingly of what they gave us. After this
they took us to a house, and gave each of us a mat and some dried grass
to sleep upon. Here we spent the night, two of the chiefs sleeping along
with us.
"We got up next morning as soon as it was daylight, as did also the two
chiefs, and went and sat down outside the house. Here we found a number
of women busy in making baskets of green flax, into some of which, when
they were finished, the bodies of our messmates, which had been cooking
all night, were put, while others were filled with potatoes, which had
been prepared by a similar process.
"I observed some of the children tearing the flesh from the bones of our
comrades, before they were taken from the fires. A short time after this
the chiefs assembled, and, having seated themselves on the ground, the
baskets were placed before them and they proceeded to divide the flesh
among the multitude, at the rate of a basket among so many. They also
sent us a basket of potatoes and some of the flesh, which resembled
pork; but instead of partaking of it we shuddered at the very idea of
such an unnatural and horrid custom, and made a present of it to one of
the natives."
According to this account, the editor says, the attack made upon the
"Agnes" would seem to have been altogether unprovoked by the conduct
either of the captain or any of the crew; but we must not, in matters of
this kind, assume that we are in possession of the whole truth, when we
have heard the statement of only one of the parties. What may have been
the exact nature of the offence given to the natives in the present
case, the narrative we have just transcribed hardly gives us any data
even for conjecturing; unless we are to suppose that their vindictive
feelings were called forth by the manner in which their pilfering may
have been resented or punished, about which, however, nothing is said in
the account. But perhaps, after all, it is not necessary to refer
their hostility to any immediate cause of this kind. These savages had
probably many old injuries, sustained from former European visitors, yet
unrevenged; and, according to their notions, therefore, they had reason
enough to hold every ship that approached their coast an enemy, and a
fair subject for spoliation. It is lamentable that the conduct of
Europeans should have offered them an excuse for such conduct.
[Illustration: _Christchurch Museum_.
1. Club (_patu_) of wood, inlaid with _paua_ shell and carved.
2. Greenstone club (_mere pounanu_).
3. Club (_onewa_) of stone.
4. _Kotiate_ of wood or bone.]
The wanton cruelties committed upon these people by the commanders and
crews of many of the vessels that have been of late years in the habit
of resorting to their shores, are testified to, by too many evidences,
to allow us to doubt the enormous extent to which they have been
carried; and they are, at the same time, too much in the spirit of that
systematic aggression and violence, which even British sailors are apt
to conceive themselves entitled to practise upon naked and unarmed
savages, to make the fact of their perpetration a matter of surprise to
us. We must refer to Mr. Nicholas's book[H] for many specific instances
of such atrocities; but we may merely mention here that the conduct in
question is distinctly noticed and denounced in the strongest terms,
both in a proclamation by Governor Macquarie, dated the 9th of November,
1814, and also in another by Sir Thomas Brisbane, dated the 17th of
May, 1824. So strong a feeling, indeed, had been excited upon this
subject among the more respectable inhabitants of the English colony,
that, in the year 1814, a society was formed in Sydney Town, with the
Governor at its head, for the especial protection of the natives of the
South Sea Islands against the oppressions practised upon them by the
crews of European vessels.
The reports of the missionaries likewise abound in notices of the
flagrant barbarities by which, in New Zealand, as well as elsewhere, the
white man has signalised his superiority over his darker-complexioned
brother. But it may be enough to quote one of their statements, namely,
that within the first two or three years after the establishment of the
society's settlement at the Bay of Islands, not less than a hundred at
least of the natives had been murdered by Europeans in their immediate
neighbourhood. With such facts on record, it ought indeed to excite but
little of our surprise, that the sight of the white man's ship in their
horizon should be to these injured people in every district the signal
for a general muster, to meet the universal foe, and, if it may be
accomplished by force or cunning, to gratify the great passion of savage
life--revenge.
The circumstances of this attack are all illustrative of the New Zealand
character; and, indeed, the whole narrative is strikingly accordant
with the accounts we have from other sources of the manner in which
these savages are wont to act on such occasions, although there
certainly never has before appeared so minute and complete a detail of
any similar transaction. The gathering of the inland population by fires
lighted on the hills, the previous crowding and almost complete
occupation of the vessel, the sly and patient watching for the moment of
opportunity, the instant seizure of it when it came, the management of
the whole with such precision and skill, as in the case of the
"Boyd,"[I] and indeed in every other known instance, while the success
of the movement was perfect--this result was obtained without the
expense of so much as a drop of blood on the part of the assailants--all
these things are the uniform accompaniments of New Zealand treachery
when displayed in such enterprises.
The rule of military tactics among this people is, in the first place,
if possible, to surprise their enemies; and, in the second, to endeavour
to alarm and confound them. This latter is doubtless partly the purpose
of the song and dance, which form with them the constant prelude to the
assault, although these vehement expressions of passion operate also
powerfully as excitements to their own sanguinary valour and contempt
of death.
Rutherford's description of the violence with which they danced on board
the ship in the present case, immediately before commencing their attack
on the crew, reminds us strikingly, even by its expression, of the
account Crozet gives us, in his narrative of the voyage of M. Marion, of
their exhibitions of a similar sort even when they were only in sport.
"They would often dance," says he "with such fury when on board the ship
that we feared they would drive in our deck."
The alleged cannibalism of the New Zealanders is a subject that has
given rise to a good deal of controversy; and it has been even very
recently contended that the imputation, if not altogether unfounded, is
very nearly so, and that the horrid practice in question, if it does
exist among these people at all, has certainly never been carried beyond
the mere act of tasting human flesh, in obedience to some feeling of
superstition or frantic revenge, and even that perpetrated only rarely
and with repugnance.
Without attempting to theorise as to such a matter on the ground of such
narrow views as ordinary experience would suggest, we may here state
what the evidence is which we really have for the cannibalism of the New
Zealanders.
Cook was the first who discovered the fact, which he did in his first
visit to the country. The strongest proof of all was that which was
obtained in Queen Charlotte Sound. Captain Cook having one day gone
ashore here, accompanied by Mr. Banks, Dr. Solander, Tupia, and other
persons belonging to the ship, found a family of the natives employed in
dressing some provisions.
"The body of a dog," says Cook, "was at this time buried in their oven,
and many provision baskets stood near it. Having cast our eyes
carelessly into one of these as we passed it, we saw two bones pretty
cleanly picked, which did not seem to be the bones of a dog, and which,
upon a nearer examination, we discovered to be those of a human body. At
this sight we were struck with horror, though it was only a confirmation
of what we had heard many times since we arrived upon this coast. As we
could have no doubt but the bones were human, neither could we have any
doubt that the flesh which covered them had been eaten. They were found
in a provision-basket; the flesh that remained appeared manifestly to
have been dressed by fire, and in the gristles at the end were the marks
of the teeth which had gnawed them.
"To put an end, however, to conjecture founded upon circumstances and
appearances, we directed Tupia to ask what bones they were; and the
Indians, without the least hesitation, answered, the bones of a man.
They were then asked what was become of the flesh, and they replied
that they had eaten it; 'but,' said Tupia, 'why did you not eat the body
of the woman we saw floating upon the water?' 'The woman,' said they,
'died of disease; besides, she was our relation, and we eat only the
bodies of our enemies, who are killed in battle.'
"Upon inquiry who the man was whose bones we had found, they told us
that, about five days before, a boat belonging to their enemies came
into the bay, with many persons on board, and that this man was one of
seven whom they had killed.
"Though stronger evidence of this horrid practice prevailing among the
inhabitants of this coast will scarcely be required, we have still
stronger to give. One of us asked if they had any human bones with the
flesh remaining upon them; and upon their answering us that all had been
eaten, we affected to disbelieve that the bones were human, and said
that they were the bones of a dog; upon which one of the Indians, with
some eagerness, took hold of his own forearm, and thrusting it towards
us, said that the bone which Mr. Banks held in his hand had belonged to
that part of a human body; at the same time, to convince us that the
flesh had been eaten, he took hold of his own arm with his teeth, and
made a show of eating. He also bit and gnawed the bone which Mr. Banks
had taken, drawing it through his mouth, and showing by signs that it
had afforded a delicious repast. Some others of them, in a conversation
with Tupia next day, confirmed all this in the fullest manner; and they
were afterwards in the habit of bringing human bones, the flesh of which
they had eaten, and offering them to the English for sale."
When Cook was at the same place in November, 1773, in the course of his
second voyage, he obtained still stronger evidence of what he expressly
calls their "great liking for this kind of food," his former account of
their indulgence in which had been discredited, he tells us, by many.
Some of the officers of the ship having gone one afternoon on shore,
observed the head and bowels of a youth, who had been lately killed,
lying on the beach; and one of them, having purchased the head, brought
it on board. A piece of the flesh having then been broiled and given to
one of the natives, he ate it immediately in the presence of all the
officers and most of the men. Nothing is said of any aversion he seemed
to feel to the shocking repast. Nay, when, upon Cook's return on board,
for he had been at this time absent on shore, another piece of the flesh
was broiled and brought to the quarter-deck, that he also might be an
eye-witness of what his officers had already seen, one of the New
Zealanders, he tells us, "ate it with surprising avidity. This," he
adds, "had such an effect on some of our people as to make them sick."
Of the persons who sailed with Cook, no one seems eventually to have
retained a doubt as to the prevalence of cannibalism among these
savages. Mr. Burney, who had been long sceptical, was at last convinced
of the fact, by what he observed when he went to look after the crew of
the "Adventure's" boat who had been killed in Grass Cove; and both the
elder and the younger Forster, who accompanied Cook on his second
voyage, express their participation in the general belief. John Ledyard,
who was afterwards distinguished as an adventurous African traveller,
but who sailed with Cook in the capacity of a corporal of marines, bears
testimony to the same fact.
It thus appears that the testimony of those who have actually visited
New Zealand, in so far as it has been recorded, is unanimous upon this
head.
To the authorities that have been already adduced, may be now added that
of Rutherford, whose evidence, both in the extract from his journal that
has been already given, and in other passages to which we shall
afterwards have occasion to refer, is in perfect accordance with the
statements of all preceding reporters entitled to speak upon the
subject. The facts that have been quoted would seem to show that the
eating of human flesh among this people is not merely an occasional
excess, prompted only by the phrenzy of revenge, but that it is actually
resorted to as a gratification of appetite, as well as of passion.
It is very probable, however, that the practice may have had its origin
in those vindictive feelings which mix, to so remarkable a degree, in
all the enmities and wars of these savages. This is a much more likely
supposition than that it originated in the difficulty of procuring other
food, in which case, as has been remarked, it could not well have, at
any time, sprung up either in New Zealand or in almost any other of the
countries in which it is known to prevail. Certain superstitious
notions, besides, which are connected with it among this people,
sufficiently indicate the motives which must have first led to it; for
they believe that, by eating their enemies, they not only dishonour
their bodies, but consign their souls to perpetual misery. This is
stated by Cook.
Other accounts, which we have from more recent authorities, concur in
showing that the person who eats any part of the body of another whom he
has slain in battle, fancies he secures to himself thereby a portion of
the valour or good fortune which had hitherto belonged to his dead
enemy. The most common occasion, too, on which slaves are slain and
eaten is by way of an offering to the "_mana_" of a chief or any of his
family who may have been cut off in battle.
All this would go to prove that the cannibalism of the New Zealanders
had, on its first introduction, been intimately associated with certain
feelings or notions which seemed to demand the act as a duty, and not
at all with any circumstances of distress or famine which compelled a
resort to it as a dire necessity. There is too much reason for
apprehending, however, that the unnatural repast, having ceased in this
way to be regarded with that disgust with which it is turned from by
every unpolluted appetite, has now become an enjoyment in which they not
unfrequently indulge without any reference to the considerations which
originally tempted them to partake of it. Indeed, such a result, instead
of being incredible or improbable, would appear to be almost an
inevitable consequence of the general and systematic perpetration, under
any pretext, of so daring an outrage upon Nature as that of which these
savages are, on all hands, allowed to be guilty.
The practice of cannibalism, which has prevailed among other nations as
well as the New Zealanders, has probably not had always exactly the same
origin. According to Mr. Mariner, it is of very recent introduction
among the people of Tonga, having been unknown among them till it was
imported about fifty or sixty years ago, along with other warlike
tastes, by their neighbours of the Fiji Islands, whose assistance had
been called in by one of the parties in a civil struggle. Here is an
instance of the practice having originated purely in the ferocity
engendered by the habit of war. In other cases it has, perhaps, arisen
out of the kindred practice of offering up human beings as sacrifices
to the gods.
Humboldt, in his work on the indigenous inhabitants of South America,
gives us an interesting account of the introduction of this latter
atrocity among the Aztecs, a people of Mexico, whose annals record its
first perpetration to have taken place so late as the year 1317.
But the most extraordinary instance of cannibalism which is known to
exist in the world is that practised by the Battas, an extensive and
populous nation of Sumatra. These people, according to Sir Stamford
Raffles, have a regular government, and deliberative assemblies; they
possess a peculiar language and written character, can generally write,
and have a talent for eloquence; they acknowledge a God, are fair and
honourable in their dealings, and crimes amongst them are few; their
country is highly cultivated. Yet this people, so far advanced in
civilization, are cannibals upon principle and system. Mr. Marsden,[J]
in his "History of Sumatra," seems to confine their cannibalism to the
accustomed cases of prisoners taken in war and to other gratifications
of revenge. But it is stated by Sir Stamford Raffles, upon testimony
which is unimpeachable, that criminals and prisoners are not only eaten
according to the law of the land, but that the same law permits their
being mangled and eaten while alive. The following extraordinary
account, which we extract from a letter of Sir Stamford Raffles to Mr.
Marsden himself, dated February 27, 1820, is sufficiently revolting; but
it is important as showing the wonderful influence of ancient customs in
hardening the hearts of an otherwise mild and respectable people, and is
therefore calculated to make us look with less severity upon the
practices of the more ignorant New Zealanders. The progress of knowledge
and of true religion can alone eradicate such fearful relics of a
tremendous superstition--the offering, in another shape, to
Moloch, horrid king, besmear'd with blood
Of human sacrifice.
I have found all you say on the subject of cannibalism more than
confirmed. I do not think you have even gone far enough. You
might have broadly stated, that it is the practice, not only to
eat the victim, but to eat him alive. I shall pass over the
particulars of all previous information which I have received,
and endeavour to give you, in a few words, the result of a
deliberate inquiry from the Batta chiefs of Tappanooly. I caused
the most intelligent to be assembled; and in the presence of Mr.
Prince and Dr. Jack, obtained the following information, of the
truth of which none of us have the least doubt. It is the
universal and standing law of the Battas, that death by eating
shall be inflicted in the following cases:--Adultery; midnight
robbery; wars of importance, that is to say, one district against
another, the prisoners are sacrificed; intermarrying in the same
tribe, which is forbidden from the circumstance of their having
ancestors in common; treacherous attacks on a house, village, or
person. In all the above cases it is lawful for the victims to be
eaten, and they are eaten alive, that is to say, they are not
previously put to death. The victim is tied to a stake, with his
arms extended, the party collect in a circle around him, and the
chief gives the order to commence eating. The chief enemy, when
it is a prisoner, or the chief party injured in other cases, has
the first selection; and after he has cut off his slice, others
cut off pieces according to their taste and fancy, until all the
flesh is devoured. It is either eaten raw or grilled, and
generally dipped in sambul (a preparation of Chili pepper and
salt), which is always in readiness. Rajah Bandaharra, a Batta,
and one of the chiefs of Tappanooly, asserted that he was present
at a festival of this kind about eight years ago, at the village
of Subluan, on the other side of the bay, not nine miles distant,
where the heads may still be seen.
When the party is a prisoner taken in war, he is eaten
immediately, and on the spot. Whether dead or alive he is equally
eaten, and it is usual even to drag the bodies from the graves,
and, after disinterring them, to eat the flesh. This only in
cases of war. From the clear and concurring testimony of all
parties, it is certain that it is the practice not to kill the
victim till the whole of the flesh cut off by the party is eaten,
should he live so long; the chief or party injured then comes
forward and cuts off the head, which he carries home as a trophy.
Within the last three years there have been two instances of this
kind of punishment within ten miles of Tappanooly, and the heads
are still preserved. In cases of adultery the injured party
usually takes the ear or ears; but the ceremony is not allowed to
take place except the wife's relations are present and partake of
it. In these and other cases where the criminal is directed to be
eaten, he is secured and kept for two or three days, till every
person (that is to say males) is assembled. He is then eaten
quietly, and in cold blood, with as much ceremony, and perhaps
more, than attends the execution of a capital sentence in Europe.
The bones are scattered abroad after the flesh has been eaten,
and the head alone preserved. The brains belong to the chief, or
injured party, who usually preserves them in a bottle, for
purposes of witchcraft, &c. They do not eat the bowels, but like
the heart; and many drink the blood from bamboos. The palms of
the hands and the soles of the feet are the delicacies of
epicures. Horrid and diabolical as these practices may appear, it
is no less true that they are the result of much deliberation
among the parties, and seldom, except in the case of prisoners in
war, the effect of immediate and private revenge. In all cases of
crimes, the party has a regular trial, and no punishment can be
inflicted until sentence is regularly and formally passed in the
public fair. Here the chiefs of the neighbouring kampong
assemble, hear the evidence, and deliberate upon the crime and
probable guilt of the party; when condemned, the sentence is
ratified by the chiefs drinking the tuah, or toddy, which is
final, and may be considered equivalent to signing and sealing
with us.
I was very particular in my inquiries whether the assembly were
intoxicated on the occasions of these punishments. I was assured
it was never the case. The people take rice with them, and eat it
with the meat, but no tuah is allowed. The punishment is always
inflicted in public. The men alone are allowed to partake, as the
flesh of man is prohibited to women (probably from an
apprehension they might become too fond of it). The flesh is not
allowed to be carried away from the spot, but must be consumed at
the time. I am assured that the Battas are more attached to these
laws than the Mahomedans are to the Koran, and that the number of
the punishments is very considerable. My informants considered
that there could be no less than fifty or sixty men eaten in a
year, and this in times of peace; but they were unable to
estimate the true extent, considering the great population of the
country; they were confident, however, that these laws were
strictly enforced wherever the name of Batta was known, and that
it was only in the immediate vicinity of our settlements that
they were modified and neglected. For proof, they referred me to
every Batta in the vicinity, and to the number of skulls to be
seen in every village, each of which was from a victim of the
kind.
With regard to the relish with which the parties devour the
flesh, it appeared that, independent of the desire of revenge
which may be supposed to exist among the principals, about
one-half of the people eat it with a relish, and speak of it with
delight; the other half, though present, may not partake. Human
flesh is, however, generally considered preferable to cow or
buffalo beef, or hog, and was admitted to be so even by my
informants. Adverting to the possible origin of this practice, it
was observed that formerly they ate their parents when too old
for work; this, however, is no longer the case, and thus a step
has been gained in civilization. It is admitted that the parties
may be redeemed for a pecuniary compensation, but this is
entirely at the option of the chief enemy or injured party, who,
after his sentence is passed, may either have his victim eaten,
or he may sell him for a slave; but the law is that he shall be
eaten, and the prisoner is entirely at the mercy of his
prosecutor.
The laws by which these sentences are inflicted are too well
known to require reference to books, but I am promised some MS.
accounts which relate to the subject. These laws are called huhum
pinang àn,--from depang àn, to eat--law or sentence to eat.
I could give you many more details, but the above may be
sufficient to show that our friends the Battas are even worse
than you have represented them, and that those who are still
sceptical have yet more to learn. I have also a great deal to say
on the other side of the character, for the Battas have many
virtues. I prize them highly.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote D: At the extreme north of the Philippine Islands.]
[Footnote E: Hawaii.]
[Footnote F: Phormium tenax.]
[Footnote G: méré.]
[Footnote H: Nicholas's "Voyage to New Zealand."]
[Footnote I: The transport "Boyd" was taken by Maoris and burned at
Whangaroa Harbour in 1809. Most of the people on board were massacred,
there being only four survivors out of seventy souls.]
[Footnote J: William Marsden, who was sent out from Dublin to Sumatra,
about 1775, as a writer in the East India Company's service.]