The Whole Scene, In Spite Of Its Green Colour,
Had Rather A Desolate Aspect.
The sight of so much fern
impresses the mind with an idea of sterility:
This, however,
is not correct; for wherever the fern grows thick and breast-
high, the land by tillage becomes productive. Some of the
residents think that all this extensive open country originally
was covered with forests, and that it has been cleared by fire.
It is said, that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the
kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine are frequently
found. The natives had an evident motive in clearing the
country; for the fern, formerly a staple article of food,
flourishes only in the open cleared tracks. The almost entire
absence of associated grasses, which forms so remarkable a
feature in the vegetation of this island, may perhaps be
accounted for by the land having been aboriginally covered
with forest-trees.
The soil is volcanic; in several parts we passed over
shaggy lavas, and craters could clearly be distinguished on
several of the neighbouring hills. Although the scenery is
nowhere beautiful, and only occasionally pretty, I enjoyed
my walk. I should have enjoyed it more, if my companion,
the chief, had not possessed extraordinary conversational
powers. I knew only three words: "good," "bad," and
"yes:" and with these I answered all his remarks, without
of course having understood one word he said. This, however,
was quite sufficient: I was a good listener, an agreeable
person, and he never ceased talking to me.
At length we reached Waimate. After having passed over
so many miles of an uninhabited useless country, the sudden
appearance of an English farm-house, and its well-dressed
fields, placed there as if by an enchanter's wand, was
exceedingly pleasant. Mr. Williams not being at home, I received
in Mr. Davies's house a cordial welcome. After drinking tea
with his family party, we took a stroll about the farm. At
Waimate there are three large houses, where the missionary
gentlemen, Messrs. Williams, Davies, and Clarke, reside;
and near them are the huts of the native labourers. On an
adjoining slope, fine crops of barley and wheat were standing
in full ear; and in another part, fields of potatoes and clover.
But I cannot attempt to describe all I saw; there were large
gardens, with every fruit and vegetable which England produces;
and many belonging to a warmer clime. I may instance
asparagus, kidney beans, cucumbers, rhubarb, apples,
pears, figs, peaches, apricots, grapes, olives, gooseberries,
currants, hops, gorse for fences, and English oaks; also many
kinds of flowers. Around the farm-yard there were stables,
a thrashing-barn with its winnowing machine, a blacksmith's
forge, and on the ground ploughshares and other tools: in
the middle was that happy mixture of pigs and poultry, lying
comfortably together, as in every English farm-yard. At the
distance of a few hundred yards, where the water of a little
rill had been dammed up into a pool, there was a large and
substantial water-mill.
All this is very surprising, when it is considered that five
years ago nothing but the fern flourished here. Moreover,
native workmanship, taught by the missionaries, has effected
this change; - the lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's
wand. The house had been built, the windows framed, the
fields ploughed, and even the trees grafted, by a New Zealander.
At the mill, a New Zealander was seen powdered
white with flower, like his brother miller in England. When
I looked at this whole scene, I thought it admirable. It was
not merely that England was brought vividly before my
mind; yet, as the evening drew to a close, the domestic
sounds, the fields of corn, the distant undulating country
with its trees might well have been mistaken for our fatherland:
nor was it the triumphant feeling at seeing what Englishmen
could effect; but rather the high hopes thus inspired
for the future progress of this fine island.
Several young men, redeemed by the missionaries from
slavery, were employed on the farm. They were dressed in
a shirt, jacket, and trousers, and had a respectable appearance.
Judging from one trifling anecdote, I should think
they must be honest. When walking in the fields, a young
labourer came up to Mr. Davies, and gave him a knife and
gimlet, saying that he had found them on the road, and did
not know to whom they belonged! These young men and
boys appeared very merry and good-humoured. In the evening
I saw a party of them at cricket: when I thought of the
austerity of which the missionaries have been accused, I was
amused by observing one of their own sons taking an active
part in the game. A more decided and pleasing change was
manifested in the young women, who acted as servants within
the houses. Their clean, tidy, and healthy appearance, like
that of the dairy-maids in England, formed a wonderful
contrast with the women of the filthy hovels in Kororadika.
The wives of the missionaries tried to persuade them not to
be tattooed; but a famous operator having arrived from the
south, they said, "We really must just have a few lines on
our lips; else when we grow old, our lips will shrivel, and we
shall be so very ugly." There is not nearly so much tattooing
as formerly; but as it is a badge of distinction between the
chief and the slave, it will probably long be practised. So
soon does any train of ideas become habitual, that the
missionaries told me that even in their eyes a plain face looked
mean, and not like that of a New Zealand gentleman.
Late in the evening I went to Mr. Williams's house, where
I passed the night. I found there a large party of children,
collected together for Christmas Day, and all sitting round
a table at tea. I never saw a nicer or more merry group; and
to think that this was in the centre of the land of cannibalism,
murder, and all atrocious crimes!
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