Captain Cook: His Life, Voyages, and Discoveries

by William Henry Giles Kingston

All the natives, however, were not alike dishonest. One chief, in particular, had behaved with great propriety during the day, neither attempting to cheat nor showing any fear of the English. He came off the next morning, and soon established friendly relations with them. He said that the people were generally convinced of their power, and would, he hoped, behave properly in future. His name was Toiava.

An officer, with the marines and a party of men, was sent on shore to cut wood. No houses were seen; but there were a number of people, who seemed to have slept under the bushes. The state of warfare in which the people existed was shown by Toiava when on board one day. Two canoes were perceived coming in from the opposite side of the bay, when, saying that they were enemies, he hastened off to the shore with all his canoes. He soon returned, however, they not being the people he supposed. A large number of mackerel were obtained here from the natives, the sailors salting enough to last for a month.

Fortunately, a fine day enabled the commander and Mr Green to obtain a satisfactory observation of Mercury; and the name of Mercury Bay was, therefore, given to the harbour on the shore of which it was taken. While they were on shore another case, of cheating by a native occurred. The thief and his companions having pulled off in their canoe, sang their war-song, and shook their paddles in defiance. This so provoked Mr Gore, the officer in charge, that he fired and killed the man, a circumstance for which Captain Cook expressed his deep regret. Though at first alarmed, the natives on shore, on inquiring into the matter, seemed to think that the man had received his deserts, and the friendly intercourse begun between them and the English was not further interrupted.

A little before sunset, the natives retired to eat their supper, consisting of birds, fish, and lobsters. Some were roasted, stuck on sticks inclined towards the fire; others were baked in ovens on the ground, in the way practised by the people of Otaheite. Among the natives was a woman mourning for the death of a relative. She sat on the ground by herself, and cut herself all over with pieces of shell till she was covered with blood, singing in a mournful voice, at the same time, a song the meaning of which Tupia could not understand.

The shore abounded with clams, cockles, and, in some places, rock-oysters. Numerous wild-fowl also were seen, and several were shot. The boats rowed up a river at the head of the bay for four or five miles, and near it a deserted fort of considerable strength was visited. Several beds of oysters were also discovered, dry at half-ebb, and a boat being sent to fetch some, returned completely laden, so that the ship’s company had a regular feast of them. Fish, also in abundance, were brought off by the natives. On the north side of the bay, a pah, small, but very strong and beautifully situated, was visited. It stood on the top of a rock detached from the mainland, surrounded at high-water. The centre part was perforated by an arch sixty feet in height, and of considerable width. The only way of reaching the top was by a very narrow winding path. Here there was room only for four or five huts. Farther on was a much larger fortified village, the inhabitants of which, to the number of a hundred, came out and invited the strangers to visit them, and seemed highly pleased when their invitation was accepted.

This pah, or fort, was examined with much interest, and afterwards minutely described by the English visitors. It seemed, indeed, a place which, if resolutely defended, was capable of holding out against any number of assailants famished only with such arms as were seen in the hands of the natives. It was curious that men capable of constructing so elaborate a fortification should have invented simply such weapons as lances, small and large battle-axes, and clubs; for not a sling nor a bow was seen among them, nor any other weapon but those mentioned. When stones were used they were thrown by the hand.

The Endeavour, having taken an ample supply of celery on board, sailed from Mercury Bay. The most successful generals of ancient and modern times were able to take advantage of their greatest victories by having paid careful attention to their commissariat; and Cook, for the same reason, could prolong his researches for a greater length of time than any previous navigator, and keep his crew in tolerable health, more especially preserve them from that fearful scourge of seamen, the scurvy. Of course he was greatly indebted to the experienced botanists on board, who were able to discover any anti-scorbutic plants grown on the shores they visited. Probably the lives of thousands of seamen might have been saved had the commanders been acquainted with the wild plants that the loving God has everywhere provided for the use of His creatures, capable of preventing that dire complaint.

About fifty miles to the north of Mercury Bay, the natives came off and threw stones at the ship, nor would they listen to the expostulations and advice of Tupia, till a musket-ball was sent through the bottom of one of their canoes, when they were convinced of the truth of his account respecting the power of the strangers.

On the 19th a large inlet was entered, in which the ship brought up. Immediately natives came off, who said that they had heard of the strangers from Toiava. One young man introduced himself as his grandson, and received several presents. They also addressed Tupia by name, showing that they had heard of the English from their friends. The commander and his usual companions proceeded in the boats nine miles up the inlet, which they discovered terminated in a river. This they entered with the flood, and found fresh water three miles from the mouth. Here they saw a large village on a sand-bank entirely surrounded by mud, probably considered a sufficient protection from their enemies. They were particularly struck by the great size of the pine trees which grew on the banks. One measured nineteen feet eight inches in girth at the height of six feet from the ground. From the root to the first branch it was eighty-nine feet, and as straight as an arrow, tapering very little in proportion to its height. It probably contained, by the captain’s computation, three hundred and sixty-six cubic feet of solid timber. Others still larger were seen. A small one was cut down, and found to be similar to the pitch pine, too heavy for masts, but the carpenter was of opinion that, by tapping, the wood would be lightened, and that then the trees would make the finest masts in the world. These trees were the celebrated Kauri pine, from which a valuable gum is extracted. It also makes very fine planking. This tree, the flax plant, and the gigantic fern are among the characteristic productions of New Zealand.

The name of the Thames was given to the river explored. The natives in the neighbourhood behaved in the most friendly manner; but while the commander and Dr Solander were on shore, and Mr Banks with Tupia and some of the natives were below, a lad took possession of a half-minute glass from the binnacle. Mr Hicks, who was commanding officer, ordered the lad to be triced up and a dozen lashes given to him. His countrymen interfered, and called for their arms from the canoes alongside. In vain Mr Banks, hearing the noise, and coming on deck, expostulated with the lieutenant. Tupia at length pacified the natives by explaining what was to happen, and allowed the punishment to proceed. As soon as it was over, an old man, supposed to be the father of the boy, gave him a beating and sent him into the canoe; but the confidence of the natives was gone, and though they promised to come back, no more was seen of them.