that at first he asked how many pounds I would give him, but afterwards
was well contented with two dollars. When I showed the chief a very
small bundle, which I wanted carried, it became absolutely necessary
for him to take a slave. These feelings of pride are beginning to wear
away; but formerly a leading man would sooner have died, than undergone
the indignity of carrying the smallest burden. My companion was a
light active man, dressed in a dirty blanket, and with his face
completely tattooed. He had formerly been a great warrior. He
appeared to be on very cordial terms with Mr. Bushby; but at various
times they had quarrelled violently. Mr. Bushby remarked that a little
quiet irony would frequently silence any one of these natives in their
most blustering moments. This chief has come and harangued Mr. Bushby
in a hectoring manner, saying, "great chief, a great man, a friend of
mine, has come to pay me a visit--you must give him something good to
eat, some fine presents, etc." Mr. Bushby has allowed him to finish his
discourse, and then has quietly replied by some answer such as, "What
else shall your slave do for you?" The man would then instantly, with a
very comical expression, cease his braggadocio.
Some time ago, Mr. Bushby suffered a far more serious attack. A chief
and a party of men tried to break into his house in the middle of the
night, and not finding this so easy, commenced a brisk firing with
their muskets. Mr. Bushby was slightly wounded, but the party was at
length driven away. Shortly afterwards it was discovered who was the
aggressor; and a general meeting of the chiefs was convened to consider
the case. It was considered by the New Zealanders as very atrocious,
inasmuch as it was a night attack, and that Mrs. Bushby was lying ill
in the house: this latter circumstance, much to their honour, being
considered in all cases as a protection. The chiefs agreed to
confiscate the land of the aggressor to the King of England. The whole
proceeding, however, in thus trying and punishing a chief was entirely
without precedent. The aggressor, moreover, lost caste in the
estimation of his equals and this was considered by the British as of
more consequence than the confiscation of his land.
As the boat was shoving off, a second chief stepped into her, who only
wanted the amusement of the passage up and down the creek. I never saw
a more horrid and ferocious expression than this man had. It
immediately struck me I had somewhere seen his likeness: it will be
found in Retzch's outlines to Schiller's ballad of Fridolin, where two
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