The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1853-07-14

From the New zcalander, Dec 15.l
A Surviving New Zealand Chiefs Reminiscent
Of Captain Cooks Visit.

e From the New Zealander, Dec ISL
n A Surviving New Zealand Chiefs Reminiscsnc
Y ofcaptain Cooks Visit.
l We have been favored by the Surveyo
< General with permission to insert in ou
columns the following graphic communica
5 ton intended to be forwarded to LondoI
periodical, as an accompaniment to tn
sketch of the celebrated Maori Chief Tame
wa; we have seen the portrait, which is al
: admirable likeness Of" "Old Hook Nose - ant
We have no doubt that both it and the mar
rative will be regarded with much interes
at home:
4 AcKLAHp, New Zealand, 1852.
SIR: As some of our readers may be in
j terested in knowing that one of the native:
Of this country is still living who remember,
i the visit of our illustrious Captain Cook,
, send you sketch Of the only surviving indi
, vidual have met or heard Of. He is known
J among the natives by the name of Horatc
and Tanewa, and more familiarly by the Eu.
ropeans as "Old Hook Nose" He is Chic
Of some importance, and has always evinced
much friendship for the settlers. saw him
lately, when on visit to the new discover.
ed gold fields at Coromandel Harbor. As
soon as he heard that gold had been found
on his land, he was the first Chief who came
forward to meet his Excellency, Lieutenant
Governor Wynyard, and to make arrange.
ments for the Europeans to dig forit. Upon
my showing him some specimens Of gold
which found upon the river Walau, claim
ed by him, he said that he should now be
content to die; that he had lived many days.
but that this day was the brightest of them
all He did not seem to value the consid-
Grafton of the gain it would be to him, SO
much as the thought that his land, the land
of his ancestors should be the first to pro-
duce gold. He glanced at the time honor
ed peak of Motu Terra, (Castle Hill,) and
turning then to the setting sun, appeared to
commune with the generation he had outl,v.
, ed. could not help thinking that he felt be
had we'll performed his duty in guarding ane
protecting the boundaries Of his inheritance
during long lfe-a task of no easy accom-
plishments among the war-like tribes ofNew
Zealand in former days.
! The following is the account he gives of
Captain Cooks visit to Mercury Bay, wit
inanga.) From what he says respecting
his own age at the time it would appear
that he must have been about twelve years
old:
awe thought that Captain Cooks vessel
was large kind of whale, and the men on
board were gods. When we saw them
pulling with their backs to the bows Of the
boats, we thought they must have had eyes
in the backs Of their heads. When the ma
tives saw the salt pork which was used on
board they thought It was the Aesh of whales,
it was SO very fat. For some time / was
afraid to venture on board, but did so after
some of the men had returned in safety
Some other boys went with me. Captain
others. He seemed to take most noueetn
children. He placed his hands on our heads
and patted us. By making signs he got our
men to make large chart on deck with
charcoal Of as much Of the coast as they were
, acquainted with, which he copied on paper
He appeared most anxious to learn respect
7 ing the shape of the land. As regards the
: North Cape, (Cape Maria Van Dieman,) the
, men took much trouble, by signs, to cxplair
that at this place their spirits, after death
took a plunge to the realms below. Cap
tain Cook seemed much puzzled by the ex.
planation used on this occasion. He gave
us the first potatoes we had ever seen-a
double handful. These we planted, and al
lllt GApllutiCu VI liICS 1Suic SuAtSN 6sS~'
Feast to commemorate their introduction, al
which, for the first time, they were allowed
to be used for food.
The Nga Puts (the tribe living at the Bay
Of Islands and Hoktuanga,) have asserted
that they were the source of the potato, but
this, am happy to say, was not the case
we were the true root in this matter. The
| speeches of our chiefs are still handed down
, to us-the speeches made on the occasion o.
!, that great feast.
After Captain Cook went away, we saw
another party of the Europeans, who go1
spars of Hakikatae (podicarpus ercelsue) from
the river Thames, and after that larger
vessel than either of the other two came in
to the Thames. On taking her departure
she fell in with fishing canoe which had
!. been driven out to sea. The wind was SC
strong that after taking the two young chiefs
on board which it contained she could not
) again make the land.
! The two young men were taken to France.
and in about two years were brought back in
auother vessel, which at the some time intro
duced pigs
The following story of an act of theft on
the part of native chief named Maru-tu-ahu,
at Mercury Bay (Wittianga) at the time of
Cooks visit, and the subsequent adjudication
on it by the natives, tends to illustrate the
strong sense ofjustice SO conspicuous among
them, which they still possess up to the pres
ent time 1t also shows how much mischief
one bad man may produce under such cir
cumstances.
"Among the natives who went to trade
with Captain Cooks ship was Maru-tu-ahu,
man who was always stealing. He was SO
bad man that ifany young man was found
stealing, he was, as proverb, said to be
the son of Maru-tu-ahu. The words were
quite known to the neighborhood. He
went in a canoe, with eight other men. He
sat in the middle, four were in the stern and
four in the bows. When he got alongside
the ship, the gentleman whose business it
was to collect the flowers Of trees, shells,
and things of that kind, (the naturalist, it is
supposedly made signs to barter for dog skin,
and producing large roll of calico, let the
end of it fall into the canoe, and unrolled a
considerable quantity-quite u heap. He
then took knife out Of his pocket and cut
it off, making sign for the dog skin to be
handed up.
Instead of being obeyed by Maru-tu-ahu,
as he should have been, this thiefmade a SLY
use of the proverb, TIE uri a Muru-tu-ahu
(the son OF Maru-tu-ahu) in order to let his
champions know his bad intentions.