Captain Cook’s arrival at Aotearoa, Part 1
Closer then came this marvel, frothing at the breast—of ferocity neither could there be a doubt. Did it not have two eyes, red with neglected desire? (hawse pipes). Suddenly one…
From: 1769 C.E. To: 1769 C.E.
Location: Tūranganui-a-Kiwa, New Zealand
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Where the White Man Treads by William Baucke, 1905.
Captain Cook’s arrival at Aotearoa, part 1
“My people came from Tauranga. My great grandfather, Toko, saw the first white man there, and looking at him, pondered gravely. ‘Varlet!’ he cried to his slave one morning early. ‘Again hast thou neglected to gather up the canoe skids. I hear the surf bashing them against the rocks! Arise! A repetition of the offence, and I will harry thy bowels with hunger!’
Suddenly the slave stood in the doorway and cried, ‘Toko, come forth. A monster, the like eyes have not yet seen!’ But his words were indistinct, for the teeth of him clattered like pebbles when a light wind bloweth shoreward. ‘A monster, slave?’
But Toko, having quicker grasp of mere than words, arose and went forth, and looking seaward, made a shade of his hands, thus And truly it was even so! like a toroa (albatross) swimming with wings extended, rising for flight!
So he ran to the centre of the marae and cried loudly to the people yet sleeping, ‘E pa e—e—, te ao maarama e— e—’ (a call when a Muru party is being organised, it at once collects a large crowd, and means—friends, the world is alight).
For in those days wonderful things happened freely, and no man might at any time cry, ‘Friend, thou liest! At once their weapons were laid to hand. The women and children sent into the ‘pa taua’ (fortified pa), and preparations were made to leave our men unhampered to observe what might be moving; also that no man thereafter might say, ‘Kaitoa’ (syn.— serve you right), should the untoward come to pass, for who can war with the gods?
Closer then came this marvel, frothing at the breast—of ferocity neither could there be a doubt. Did it not have two eyes, red with neglected desire? (hawse pipes). Suddenly one cried. ‘E pa, he waka’ (Say, it’s a canoe). And strange, such was its magic, on the instant we saw in it that which we had overlooked before; just as one after much spying sees a pigeon, in what he took to be the sky, through a formation of leaves.
Especially was this grounded on the understanding what it dropped its anchor. Ha, were there not ropes? Ho! were there not sails? But oh! of what number and fashion? And the sail-poles whose tops bumped against the clouds!
All these new sights gave tough food for much chewing, various suggestion, and much wise contradiction. Were those men creeping like wood-lice from end to end of their craft? And what meaneth that one peering with a pole at his eye?
Magic again, for one by one the sail-cloths vanish, and before the brain can form conceptions, nothing remaineth but a, few cross sticks bulged in the middle. Ha! a spider! lo, the strings of its web!
Brothers in the rear there be abundantly cautious, it is labouring in birth-throes! Look, one of its young now floats by its side; who can foretell of how many more? A smaller canoe and men—or what are they? crowding into it; some working strange paddles; others firm in their seats like “korora” (penguins) awaiting the tide, and each with a rod between his knees.
Watch, brothers, they are nearing towards us. Men are they, truly—or belike them, bearing canoe balers on their heads! Their face-hide smooth, but their bodies cased in a skin of many coarse wrinklings!”
“...Now, our people were drunk with this day’s miraculous behaviour, but they were brave; may be the spirit was not as boastful as it was yesterday, yet while the vitals quaked the hand was sure of its grip; and suddenly one cried, ‘Me whakaoho’ (startle them). So they ranged up and cried in a body, “Tu ke tawhiti!” (syn., Stand your distance).
But when, unheeding, they drew yet closer, what can brave men do but retire for the better onrush? And when, furthermore, the man with pole at his eye waved a hand and cried ‘Arofa outou’ (kanaka greeting love to you—which he had probably learnt in his cruise among their islands), at once the cry went up, ‘E tama ma he reo (Brothers, they speak!)
And, when he leaped on to the dry land, and walking over to them, held out an empty hand for their inspection, our chief also stepped to the front, and their hands closed, and, as is our custom, presented his nose for the ‘hongi.’ which the stranger, not understanding, ignored, and they whispered, ‘Lo, verily these are strangers.’
When also—as is our beholden custom—our chief asked them their names, and where they came from, Kapene Kuki shook his head, and called in his own language to the people of his boat, whereupon two brought up a square block of wood and set it down at his feet, and now began a series of magic unheard of since the world was made; for, before one could moisten the lips, the block of wood lay open, and lo, it was hollow!
Then, thrusting in his hand, he took therefrom a bright thing with a handle, and walking up to a sapling, with one blow laid it prone on the earth! Again he thrust in his hands, and brought forth a dazzling bright blade, which hurt the eyes to look upon, and when, with a sweep of the hand, three flaxblades fell, enough was acted to remove our presence to a safer distance.”
(Here, for easier transcription, I shall follow his example, and instead of “them” say “us” and “we.”)
And yet again his hand brought forth a string of beads, which he hung around the neck of our chief, whose name was Toia, and laughed; whereupon we also laughed that thereby we might propitiate the goodwill of these strangers, whose intentions were visibly peaceful; but to the Maori, suspicion is a first line of defence, and elbow space an absolute necessity, therefore we stood aside speechless, for were not our eyes beholding that which not one of us had seen before?
Then followed other treasures—blankets, red, blue, and grey, soft to the touch like the fluff of unfledged birds. All these were laid in a row, that the longing might be tempted, and when he beckoned to those which his understanding lit upon as chief men, and pointed from them to the goods, we moved yet further back, too deeply unworthy to receive gifts, in which—who knew?—might lie germs of witchcraft and unknown possible evils; but when his roving eye saw a basket of kumara, and he laid his hands upon it, and again pointed' to the goods, our blindness was fain to forsake us, and our custom of hospitality returning, the order was given: ‘tahuna te haangi’ (fire the oven). Even gods must be nourished!
But what shall be said of the ship? For truly nothing would satisfy his pleasure until he had selected five of our foremost men, in which my ancestor Toko had the honour of joining, to visit his terrible ship. At first fear whispered at one ear: ‘Don’t! Beware!’ But curiosity beseeched into the other: ‘Be brave! Unravel this mystery! They carry no weapons, therefore trust them.’
Thus it is handed down to us that those who were left behind uttered the ‘poroporo-aki’ (farewell chant) and cried: ‘Go, go to the unknown deaths which await the intrepid explorers of the leap into darkness! Beware of enchantment!’ Now that we know, we laugh! but our people of those days saw, and many inward questionings bumped against their ribs.
Thus is it handed down also that when they climbed the side of this wonderful canoe they felt like men scaling the face of a cliff; the which labour forbids spying beneathward. And as they walked hither and yonder on the firm white planks of the gently-swaying ship they' forgot their fears, and burst forth into chants as: ‘Oh! matchless art thou, pakeha stranger. Oh! satisfying are these beholdings, but the questions remaineth: From when came you? Born in the waters? But no man may expect enlightenment! No human hands fashioned such marvels unaided!’
“So it was, wherever the eye rested; whatever hands touched; the brain sought in vain for plain words which would allay the continual thirst for an answer! Strange faces, strange voices, and those fearsome creations fastened up in pens; now we know them as pigs, but they, never tiring of watching these massive ‘kiore’ (native rats), only tailless, with snouts cut square off, called them grunters! Presently one biteth the other; even as a spear entering the brain pierceth the wail of the bitten!
“When our friends returned to land unharmed, and told of all they had seen, that these were peaceable visitors, and that kumara, hue, and water could be exchanged for those magical goods,” said Kaha, “at once our people became as those stricken with a sudden madness. Especially was the clamancy of our women beyond mortal endurance! The kumara stores were entered without ceremonial; canoes were launched, tardy slaves smacked with paddle blades, calls and orders flung to and fro, expectations discussed, caution advised by the trepidant, reassuring answers demanded of those who had seen and touched.
Oh! the turmoil was indecent, and abated not until throats were hoarse, and runnels of sweat trickled from tireless hides! Presently the all-seeing eye of Toia, the chief, detected some men strapping a mere to their hips, the which he instantly ordered to be laid aside, crying: ‘Madmen! what avail will those be against the descendants of gods? There shall be neither threatening nor killing, lest we be utterly destroyed. Take heed!’
And truly was the wisdom of this warning made manifest by the consequent behaviour of the stranger; for when we came to the side of the ship the faces which peered at us exuded goodwill and pleasure; even several hands extended assistance to our women, who, like their sex, forthwith began to ogle and smirk at the men. Oh! the women!
“Now, when all the baskets were inboard, and each man's and woman’s neatly stacked apart in a row, Kapene Kuki again went round and offered his hand to show that it was empty of danger; then, bringing out his wares, he laid upon each basket either a knife, a string of beads, a hatchet, or three fish-hooks, each according to its size. On some stacks he laid a blanket; if it were the women’s, a shawl; but on every stack he laid an axe, a spade, and a pot. All went on orderly and in view of mutual esteem.
Of talk there was none, for our eyes were domineered with the brilliancy and splendour of all things. The strangers stood in squads of three and four, stiff and upright, like watchful sentinels. From every hip there hung a scabbard, in which rested a long blade with a yellow handle, which one of our young men, impelled by a curiosity beyond control, slyly drew half-way out, but promptly replaced, being instantly struck blind with the deadly brightness thereof!
“When these several matters had ended, and each party more than satisfied with the bounty which this generous man had bestowed upon us, all went to their goods and reverently examined each article; and here began a series of happenings which had nearly brought this glorious day to a disastrous close; and it arose in this wise: One man, remembering the sequence of the axe-swing as exhibited on shore, and impatient to try its effects likewise, went close to the mast and delivered a stroke at it! Barely had he rejoiced at the result than four powerful hands were laid upon him, and in great anger pointed to the damage he had wrought, which the misbegotten, taking as an assault on his person, turned on his assailants with the axe, which, missing its mark, came down on a bolthead, and parlously gashed the cutting edge.
Just then Toia leaped into the fray, and prevented further disaster by rebuking his tribesman, and pointing to the broken axe edge, cried: ‘What did I warn you! These men are immune; lo, the act of thy folly. Now, silence, and listen: We have come in peace, let us depart in peace. Take heed!’
When all had smoothed down again, the cook—for report hath it that his clothes were unspeakably filthy—grew enraptured with the handsome face of one of our maidens, and coming softly up beside her, suddenly held a shining object (looking-glass) in front of her face, whereupon she screamed, and before a hand could intervene, leaped into the sea! which Kapene Kuki seeing, he strode up and smote the varlet in the face.
This again might have enlarged into serious trouble, but with the smiles of the strangers, together with the fishing out of our maiden, the episode went by, and happiness was restored. And so we wandered to and fro, admiring this, and laboriously communing on that, as thus—pots, spades, axes, knives, blankets—a new world! Halt there, thou of insecure opinions, man made not these things; how could he? Tell me that!”
Baucke, William. Where the White Man Treads. Wilson and Horton Printers, 1905.
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