The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1888-11-28
In NEW ZEALAND.
THE MAoRls SAID TO BE A RACE OF
PoLYNEsIAE ORIGIN.

Memories of Cannibaiisn-Religious BE-
iief-Natiye Canoes and "Pahsn--phy-
steal and Moral Characteristics-HeaIt
of the Misunderstanding and Fasting.
The aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand
are called Maoris pronounced Mowries), and
their traditions reach back for 600 or, 700
years. These traditions tell us that chief
tain was driven from Hawaiki and came
with large war canoe and number of
companions to the shores of New Zealand.
He subsequently, returned home and gave
such glowing descriptions of the new land
that many eanoeloads OF his compatriots
started out The names of these canoes have
been preserved, and the tribal organization
of the Maoris is based on their descent from
these progenitors. Calculations made In ac-
cordance with the genealogies preserved by
the priests showth about twenty-seven gen.
erations have passed by since the original
settlers arrival. Hawaik is generally sup
posed to be Hawaii and thus the Maoris are
Sandwich Islanders. The early Dutch ex-
plorer, Tasman, discovered New Zealand in
1912, but owing to boats crew being mas
sacred by the natives he did not land The
first European to land was the famous Capt
Cook, who had been sent OUT to Tahiti by
the English government to observe transit
of Venus
When Capt. Cook visited them he intro
duced pigs, poultry, potatoes and other vege
tables. From Capt. Cooks pigs the wild
boar of modern New Zealand, which affords
such fine sport to those fond of hunting with
a considerable spice of danger in it, is the di-
rect descendant. A recent American traveller
tells us that American whalers in pursuit of
the sperm whale, visited the islands as early
as the year 1900, and that the offspring of
| the intermarriages of the sailors with Maori
girls are still to DO plainly distinguished, and
| for the most part show n desire TO associate
themselves as closely as possible with the
| white man and to enter into business pur-
suits. The natives were entirely given
up to cannibalism, and very much rellshed
"long pig,n rs human flesh was called.
ENGAGED IN CONSTANT FIGHTING,
The early Maoris were engaged in constant
| Sighting, tribe with tribe, the smallest pre-
text sufllclng to fan the flames Of war.
| Whenever human flesh became scarce ar
tiele of food, one tribe would attack another,
and after n bloody struggle the survivors
would feast upon the bodies of their prison
ers In the Hot Lake district, where red hot
stones were easily obtainable, the flesh was
roasted on them. They had no belief in any
| Supreme Being, but believed that everything
was evolved out of darkness. They wero di-
vided into several tribes, and each tribe
owned its territory in common. Certain
buildings, places and things were made
''tapu," that is, they must not be touched or
hurt, or the vengeance of the tribe would
fall on the unhappy violator of religious
sentiment. The district around Auckland is
covered with the craters of extinct volcanoes
and in the early days each of these oraters
was fortified by the natives, who were es-
| pecially skillful in constructing stockade
camps, or "pahs,n as they are called.
The canoes Of the Maoris are dug outs Of
| great length and extreme narrowness To
propel them, short handled, single bladed
paddles are used, and on swift streams very
great skill is shown by the boatinen They
lived partly on fish, which they caught In
nets, being expert fishermen, partly on rats,
these being the largest animal native to the
| country prior to the Introduction OF pigs by
| Capt. Cook They bad also a vegetable
which is now called the "sweet potato" but
| sweetest Of all to their taste was the flesh of
men. For weapons they had spears and clubs,
| the latter being often made of n curious semi
| Opaque stone peculiar to tho country, called
| green stone. This stone Is now used by jewell
ers to mako into earrings, brooches and
charms, and n real green stone club Is be-
coming scarce and valuable When white
| women were few in numbers as they were
among the first settlers, many intermarriages
| took place between the white men and the
| Maori girls. and even in recent times Eng
lishmen have married Maori women who
possessed large estates. The Maori of the
present day is either dissolute semi Euro
| peanized town loafer, or is resident of one
of the reservations set apart by the govern
ment. Natives live on the income brought
in by the land allotted to them by tho gov
eminent, and in the Hot Lake district on the
compensation they receive for acting as boat
men on the lake, or as guides to the volcanic
wonders Of the region.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
The full blooded Maori is, us u rule, well
formed and is about five feet six inches in
height, tho body and arms being longer than
those of the average Englishman. while tho
legs are shorter The calves are largely de-
veloped, and as o carrier Of burdens the
Maori probably surpasses the white while
the white SURPRISES him in strength and gem
eral endurance. The older native women
are tattooed about the.lps, while tho men are
tattooed all over the face and nose. The
young women for the most part, especially
v
do not tattoo their faces. The girls are often
good looking, having good features, very
fine dark eyes and pleasing expression
They wear a skirt and a bright colored blan-
ket. The morality Of the Maori girls is very
poor, almost non-cxistent, but when O woman
is married she Is sacred, aud death would
probably be the outcome Of any attack upon
her chastity. The Maori man is very lazy
and expects his wife to gather fruit, dig up
roots and collect berries for him. Sometimes
the native women have Jewish type Of face
and then they arc usually very fine looking,
for their eyes arc always good. Most OF the
Maoris are protested Christians and the ma
jority Of these are Roman Catholics.
The health of the natives is often delicate,
many Of them suffering from lung COM
plants; but this Is TO be attributed to their
manner of life. They wear European or
semi European dress during tho day and at
night in their "whares,n or cabins, wear only
the native blanket, whence chills often re-
suit. Sometimes, too, thirty or moro persons
congregate together In one WHARF," where
two fires are burning on tho ground. All
smoke vigorously, and after passing some
hours In this atmosphere the visitors 60 out
clad I'm single garment on bright, clear,
cool night. They also often eat unwholesome
food, such as rotten maize, or fish in a high
state Of decomposition, and many, too, are
addicted to whisky, and find means OF get
ting it, though the sale Of alcohol in any
form to natives is strictly prohibited by law.
They are very peaceable among themselves
and toward whites; even when drunk they
do not become quarrelsome or disposed to
fight, and it has been remarked that the
children never cry. After one Of their great
feasts there usually comes fast, for they eat
up everything without thought for the
future. On such occasions they would be
starved to death were 1t not for tho kindness
Of the white settlers and such nourishment
as the women can gather In the shape Of
roots and berries San Francisco Chronicle.