e seen above 200 acres of
cultivated land, and that not slightly turned up, but well worked and
cleared; and when the badness of their tools is considered, together with
their limited knowledge of agriculture, their persevering industry I look
upon as truly astonishing.

The New Zealanders have established here a wise custom, which prevents a
great deal of waste and confusion, and generally preserves to the planter
a good crop, in return for the trouble of sowing; namely, as soon as the
ground is finished, and the seed sown, it is _tabooed,_ that, is rendered
sacred, by men appointed for that service, and it is death to trample
over or disturb any part of this consecrated ground. The wisdom and
utility of this regulation must be obvious to every one. But, however
useful this taboo system is to the natives, it is a great inconvenience
to a stranger who is rambling over the country, for if he does not use
the greatest caution, and procure a guide, he may get himself into a
serious dilemma before his rambles be over, which had nearly been the
case with our party this day. We were ascending a hill, for the purpose
of inspecting a New Zealand fortification on the summit, when a little
boy joined our party, either out of curiosity, or in hopes of getting a
fish-hook from us--a thing the natives are continually asking for; but as
we had a man with us who spoke the language fluently, we did not much
regard the boy's guidance, though to us it speedily became of great
importance. We were taking a short cut, to make a quick ascent to the top
of the hill, when the little fellow uttered a cry of horror. Our
interpreter asked him what he meant, when he pointed his finger forward,
and told him to look, for the ground was tabooed. We did as he desired
us, but beheld nothing particular, till he showed us, in one of the
trees, among the branches, a large bunch of something, but we could not
make out what it was. This, he told us, was the body of a chief, then
undergoing the process of decomposition, previous to interment, which
process is witnessed by men appointed for that purpose, who alone are
permitted to approach the spot. The ground all round is tabooed, so that,
had it not been for the interference of our young guide, we should
certainly have been placed in a most distressing situation; and it is a
question if our ignorance of their customs would have been considered a
sufficient excuse for our offence.

The top of this hill was