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Dickey Barrett,and the Seige of Moturoa.Chapter I. Taranaki as it was Before its Settlement.

The performance of any drama, is but at best, very tame, without the accessory of artistic got-up scenery to give it adequate interpretation. So, likewise, is a tale told without some knowledge being conveyed of the locality wherein such transpired. To furnish such at the time events were taking place which constitute this history, a descriptive account of the neighbourhood of Moturoa has been availed of, written by a young gentleman of the name of George Shaw, when a passenger in the brig “Annie” while anchored off the Sugar Loaves, for a day or two in the year 1833, which description the writer of this work obtained a copy of through the courtesy of Mr. Charles Clarke, Diss, Norfolk, to whom the letter embodying the account, was addressed.

“Dear Cousin Charley,—What vacillating donkeys are not frequently animals inside of trousers and jackets! In the whole of the hundred and fifty-one days in which I was aboard the “Grampus,” on my way out page 10 to Sydney, I am convinced that there scarcely was a day out of that aggregation of days that I was not declaring to myself that, catch me once ashore again, and the best ship afloat would not again get me into it, for either love or money! But, lo! hardly so much as a fortnight had elapsed ere that I was pestering my Uncle Davie to let me have a passage in one of his New Zealand traders! The old man, after some hesitation, gave way to my humour, and in four or five days afterwards, I found myself once more afloat, and aboard a brig named ‘Annie,’ bound for a port named Petone, at the extreme south of the North Island of New Zealand, laden thitherward with stores.

“On the morning of our ninth, or tenth day out, we sighted, what on our first survey gave us the idea of looking on a distant field at large cornstacks, darkened by penumbra. However, as we got nearer to them, lo! these imagined cornstacks of ours, turned out really to be a cluster of cone-shaped rocks, some of which were on the shore, and others were in the water, and approaching an altitude of, I should think, from about fifty to five hundred feet.

“I, after about an hour's steady gazing at these high peaks, was called down to breakfast; but, as soon as that was over, I came upon deck again, when, there were unfolded, as the morning advanced, a spectacle of physical beauty far transcending anything which I had ever seen, either for sweetness of aspect or for majesty of form. I continued peculiarly infatuated with the perspective. This, I ascertained at the time, was what Captain Cook gave the name to of Egmont. This mountain, Egmont, rivetted the eyes towards the direction in which it towered, with an unspeakable tenacity. Its summit, I was then told, had an altitude of between eight and nine thousand feet! and had, as we then observed it, a sort of aureole, as a crown: this, by and by, dissolved, and unfolded a deep tippet of snow, with a pinkish-looking tint upon the surface where the sun's rays fell. Carrying the vision further downward, stunted vegetation almost concealed the cone's surface: nearer to the base, gigantic trees seemed to crowd, and rise as if aspiring to attain a magnitude corresponding to that which supplied their own specific vigour! I was so deeply absorbed by the contemplation of this enchanting view, that, for hours, I stood with my breast pinned as it were against the rim of the bulwark in profound and silent thought. Several times was I called to put away things which, in reckless disorder, were strewn about my berth: but I continued deaf to all calls. From this point of observation, it seemed that the whole of the land, from the mountain to the sea, was occupied by nothing but trees—one mass of variegated foliage exquisitely tinged, and quite nnfamiliar in appearance, over an area of many miles! However, on more careful scrutiny, there could be distinctly noticed along the winding shore, at unequal intervals, what we supposed indicated groups of huts, with small patches of green vegetation around. Overlooking the sombre strand could be observed several abruptly-rising cliffs; but the greater part of the stretch upon the margin of the page 11 great ocean here, seemed to be gentle-sloping downs, with here and there a roundish knoll interspersed.

“I can hardly name the regret which I felt, when, making for Cook's Straits, the good ship ‘Annie’ bore us away from this thoroughly enchanting spectacle. However, as though the gods had taken a fit of compunction at their severing us so soon from unsatiated delight, the wind from the south, which had been blowing only but moderately throughout the morning, turned, all at once, into quite a hurricane, inasmuch as we could not face the straits, and there remained, no help for us, but to put back and take shelter under the Sugar Loaves. Our Captain looked glumpy at this contretemps; but it was not so with the majority of the crew. Well, as far as I myself was concerned, I could not have asked for anything much better. My position in this brig, I may as well explain, was rather of an indefinable nature, a sort of non-descript one—a status betwixt a passenger and a sailor. When all was made secure, the anchor dropped, and darkness fell, I confess that I was in noway displeased, when asked by the skipper, to keep an eye for a time, outside the hull, so as to give seasonable warning in the event of any Native canoes coming stealthily about. At this special duty, truth compels me to state, that my eyes were much oftener directed to the neighbouring land than to the immediate environment of water. Then, regal Egmont, the lovliest spectacle imaginable, still boldly stood out, as a sublime glory under the far-fetched light of the stars! of the myriad constellations!

“Our supposition, by the by, about the huts, turned out to be a correct one. We could see the smoke ascending in the places at which they had, in the daytime, been distinguished. I got relieved of, my anything but, onorous duty, as the second watch came on, and quickly afterwards was below under the benign influence of the mythical heavy goddess.

“Just as daylight was beginning to show, towards five in the morning, I was hurridly aroused, to come upon deck, and look at a canoe close at hand, laden with Maoris! In a trice, I made my way upon deck, and peering with my eyes—not thoroughly as yet open—through the still imperfect light, at this object of concentrated interest. The occupants of the attenuated argos evinced alternately an expression of shyness and an eagerness to approach. Our Captain got a white flag out, and hoisted it on one of the yards, but such, with these Natives, did not somehow appear to be understood. Observing that they had spears, and some of them short green-coloured clubs in their possession, it was considered advisable to distribute muskets out to the crew. After a little delay, one of our hands aboard, bearing the soubriquet of ‘Portuguse Joe,’ hailed them with a smatter of words in their own tongue, which had the desired effect, for, directly, the chief came by himself, unarmed, amongst us, and, one by one, after one another, of his scantyclad retinue soon followed suit, till all that there remained in their canoe was but a blear-eyed, wrinkled old woman. After gorging themselves page 12 with the food supplied them aboard, almost to bursting point, they left just as they had come. In little over half-an-hour again, a few of them returned, bringing along with them a lot of large pumpkins and melons, which I took to be as a set-off for what they had received from us. They also brought in this, their second trip, an old, doubled-together, sick English seaman, who answered to the call of Joe Grundy. Joe was of herculean build, although quite a wreck with the terrible affliction of chronic rheumatism. From this decrepit European, we learned that there was nothing with the present associating Natives to justify alarm, as, just at that time along the coast, the Whites stood in exceedingly high favour, from their being the main cause, a short time previously, of making their enemies lick the dust, by the using of old ship-cannon against them

“I was myself but a short time in getting ingrafted into the favour of this seaman, being anxious to learn as much as I possibly could about the place. From Grundy, I had this desire thoroughly gratified—in fine, as much, or more, than I could well retain in my mind: besides, I had quite used up all the white space in my notebook. Grundy regretfully informed me that his old mates had all left him, to pursue their avocation of whaling at places elsewhere. Poor old Joe seemed assiduously solicitous that I should learn all the Native names of every particular object presented to my sight. He commenced by imparting the known titles of the divers Sugar Loaves; and there was not one out of the whole bunch, but Joe attached, or said there was attached, some legend to. “See! look here! young sir,” said he, putting out his rheumy index finger. “That tallest cone you see on the land is Paritutu, where, its said, that once a Maori wench defended herself, single-handed, from a whole mob of Waikatos, who were after this girl in hot pursuit. Mikotahi, yonder one, nearest the land, with a flat crown, was where the skeletons of three Southern Sea pirates were found, supposed to have been entombed alive in a cave! Indeed,” added Joe, “that's nothing but correct. I've seen the bones of their skeletons with my own eyes. Moturoa, the one which we are now nearest to, was where the Ngatiawas, wives and daughters of those Natives round here, were put up for several weeks for security, during the late Waikato invasion which I was telling you about. That one, next in size, the centre a little depressed you'll see at the top, goes by us, as ‘Saddleback,’ but its Maori name is Motumahunga. Upon it, I am given to understand,” said Joe, “that, at one time, all the Maori refractory people were placed for punishment. The Lion Rock—we can just here get a glimpse of the corner of it—is where, at one time, a terrible struggle took place between a strange sea-monster and one of the Natives. The Seal Rock, further west,” Joe continued, “just barely seen out of the water, is where they tell that, once upon a time, one of their seal-calves suckled a human baby. The Maori,” remarked my interlocutor, “are a most extraordinary kind of people for bestowing distinctive names on every object, no matter what it be, which comes anyway near their range of page 13 vision. The most insignificant rock, indeed, which you now can see, jutting above the waves, has with them a special term.”

“Old Joe, at this stage, after after a fit of coughing, was about to proceed still further with his Maori lore, but, craving as I was to get at, as much as I could, of all that was known about the place, Joe had quite exhausted by this time, my not very meagre supply of patience, and so as to, meanwhile, finish, I called upon the steward to bring something, which I knew well Mr. Grundy should fully appreciate.

“In the course of the afternoon, I fell in again with old Joe, at a pah named Ngamotu, situate upon the first rising ground overlooking the bay. There was an open space, partially cultivated, on the declivity leading up to it; but everywhere else seemed to me to be lightly covered with forest scrub.

“I had, somehow, an irresistible yearning to penetrate for some distance into the bush. I supposed that the many adventurous stories which I had greedily perused in boyhood, of virgin bush life, furnished to me, at this moment, the odd impulse. I therefore, quietly slipped away without acquainting anyone with what I meant to be after. A small compass, which I had in my pocket, imbued me with the confidence that there was little to fear from losing my bearings, at any rate; and, here also, I ascertained for my further consolation, that there was not such a thing about as a wild beast. I succeeded, after about two hours' rough travelling, in finding a dominant elevation, where I could see a long distance over the tops of the trees. Such was near to four miles, I made it, south-west, from the shore I had started from.

“From the summit of this selected point of observation, I beheld everything I considered conducive for the transposition of this strange country into a rich and cultivated boundary. There were likewise a succession, no matter in what direction the eyes were cast, of singularly bewitching-like landscapes; and quite dissimilar, I noted, in contour and floral dressing, from any which I had ever looked upon, on the other side of the equinoxal line. Scattered far between, I discovered tiny spaces of clearings amidst the virgin forest trees. Then, also, came under my observation, irregular lines, straight and curved, of silvery-like effulgence, denoting, as I concluded, limpid rivers.

“It was now hard upon evening: nevertheless, culpably indiscrect, as justly may be considered my fixed resolution, taking into thought the peculiar lonesomeness of my position, I made my mind up to survey stately Egmont in one of its sunsetting phases, as I had done in one of its sunrising ones. I called to mind then, that there was a young moon, which would yield me rather better than an hour and a-half of her reflected light; and that, I calculated, would be sufficient to last until I was within a “Ship ahoy,” of the brig ‘Annie’: which, by the by, I had descried from this eminence, like a troubled spectre over-awed by formidable Titans. Most luckily, though, on this particular occasion, there was no cause given to make me regret at all my rash waywardness. A brief optical mensuration of the cone, co-eval, perhaps, with page 14 Creation, was to me a sufficient recompense for all my waiting, and all my labour. In a word, I was inexpressibly enamoured with all the surroundings.

“I seated myself for a short while upon a flat crowned rock: took out of my pocket, steel, flint, and tinder: procured with these a kindling, and enjoyed a comfortable smoke. Then, subsequently ruminated for a space of half-an-hour, or thereabouts, on the numerous incidents which had enlisted my attention throughout, what I regarded as being one of the most important days that I had experienced in life.

“Whilst continuing keeping my eyes directed upon Egmont, Old Sol, in all its majestic glory, began to dip in the western horizon, throwing upon the side of the mountain nearest to whereon I was placed, exquisitely beautiful shades of light on columns of vapour, which gradually split up into irregular images: again coalesced into highly-pleasing symetrical figures, constituting a vision of lovliness, which can, in mortal range, have but few parallels.

“Even when this unspeakably grand solar display was over, I was so transported with delight, as to feel reluctant to leave the vicinity. But a sense of the propriety of speedily migrating, urged me, after a brief whiles pondering, to retire.

“Through the less perfect light, on my way to the sea-shore again, for the most of the way, I kept constantly stumbling over obstructions—unscathed, however—I got ensconsed aboard by eight bells.”