OCR Text |
Show 498 NEW ZEALAND. Dec. 1835. of the different parts of the bay, is (as i_n Chiloe) almhost enti.r ely kept up b Y b oa ts · I was surpnsed to finfd t at almost every hI' ll, wh 'I Ch I ascended ' had been at som• e ormer ti.m e more or 1e ss f or t'I fi e d . The summits were cut mto steps or successive terraces, and they had been frequently pro-tected by deep trenches. I afterwards observe~ t~at the rinci al hills inland, in like manner showed. an artifiCial ou~- f. ~hese are the Pas, so frequently mentwned by Captam Cmoeo. k un d er tl1 e nam e of " hippah" '. the difference of sound being owing to the prefixed article. . That the Pas had formerly been used, was evi~ent from t h e p'i1e s of shells ' and the pits in which, a.s .I was mformh ed, sweet potatoes were kept as reserved provisiOns. As t ere was no water on these hills, the defenders could never have anticipated a long siege, but only a hurried. attack for plunder; d hi.ch circumstances the successive terraces would un er w · d · f have afforded good protection. The general mtro uctwn o fire-arms has changed the whole system of warfare; and an exposed situation on the top of a hill ';ould now be worse than useless. The Pas in consequence, IS at the pre~ent day, a1 w ays built on a level piece of ground. It co. nsists . of a double stockade of thick and tall posts, placed In a Zigzag line so that every part can be flanked. Within the stockade a m'ound of earth is thrown up, behind which t~e defenders can rest in safety, or use their fire-arms. over 1t. On the level of the ground, little archways sometimes pass through this breastwork, by which means the defend.ers can crawl out to the stockade, to reconnoitre their enemies. Th~ Rev. W. Williams, who gave me this account, added, that m one Pas he had noticed spurs ·or buttresses projecting from the inside of the mound of earth. On asking the chief the use of them, he replied, that if two or three of his ~en should be shot their neighbours would not see the bodies, and so be discouraged. These Pases are considered by the New Zealanders as very perfect means of defence: for the attacking force is never so well disciplined as to rush in a body to the stockade, cut Dec. 1835. NEW ZEALAND, 499 it down, and effect their entry. When a tribe goes to war the chief caHnot order on~ party to go here, and anothe~ there; but every man fights in the manner which best pleases himself; and for individuals to approach a stockade defended by fire-arms, must appear certain death. I should think a more warlike race of inhabitants could not be found in any part of the world, than the New Zealanders. Their conduct on first seeing a ship, as described by Captain Cook, strongly illustrates this : the act of throwing volleys of stones at so great and novel an object, and their defiance, of " Come on shore and we will kill and eat you all," shows uncommon boldness. rrhis warlike spirit is evident in many of their customs, and even in their smallest actions. If a New Zealander is struck, although but in joke, the blow must be returned; and of this 1 saw an instance with one of our officers. At the present day, from the progress of civilization, there is much less warfare. When Europeans :first traded here, muskets and ammunition far exceeded in value any other article : now they are in little request, and are indeed often offered for sale. Among some of the southern tribes, however, there is still much hostility. I heard a characteristic anecdote of what took place there some time ago. A missionary found a chief and his tribe in preparation for war;their muskets clean and bright, and their ammunition ready. He reasoned long on the inutility of the war; and the little provocation which had been given for it. The chief was much shaken in his resolution, and seemed in doubt: but ·at length it occurred to him, that a barrel of his gunpowder was in a bad state, and that it wou]d not keep much longer. This was brought forward as an unanswerable argument for the necessity of immediately declaring war: the idea of allowing so much good gunpowder to spoil was not to be thought of; and this settled the point. I was told by the missionaries, that in the life of Shongi, the chief who visited England, the love of war was the one and lasting spring of every action. The tribe in which he 2 .K 2 |