The Mysterious Island Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 56 Captain Grant's Children (56)
"My dear lady, you are asking when it 'started again'," Paganel seriously corrected, "Actually, as early as 1845, the aborigines in New Zealand revolted; this time the war started again At the end of 1863; before that, the Maori had long wanted to be independent and get rid of the rule of the British colonists. Therefore, the Maori National Party propagated everywhere, was active everywhere, and planned to elect its own leader. According to rumors, the Maori The old chief Batado was elected as the king, and the village where Batato was located was regarded as the capital. However, this Batado is just a tricky person with a timid character, and he is not as shrewd as one of his 'prime ministers'. Also in New Zealand Before it was occupied by the British, a tribe called Etihawa settled in the Oakland area. Batato’s shrewd and capable prime minister is the descendant of this tribe. The prime minister’s name is William Sampson. Now, he is the The core of the war Maori. He formed the Maori into an army, conducted military training, and united the surrounding tribes to fight against the rule of the British colonists."

"How did this war come about?" Sir Glenarvan couldn't help asking.

"It happened in 1860," Paganel said, "at that time, a Maori native in Taranaki, on the southwestern coast of the North Island, sold six hundred acres of land to the British government. When the British government sent people to When the land was being measured, the tribal chief Jinji suddenly came out to interfere and sent people from the tribe to set up camp here. He also fought against the British government and built high fences to enclose a total of [-] acres of land. The British side was naturally very tough, A few days later, Colonel Gould was sent to capture it with troops; a national defense war broke out in this way."

"Are there a lot of Maori in New Zealand?"

"The number is really small now. In the last 100 years, the Maori population has declined." Paganel continued, "According to Captain Cook's estimate, in 1769, there were about 40 Maori in New Zealand; but in In 1845, according to the survey report in the "Indigenous Peoples Protection Act" promulgated, there were only 9000 Maori left. It was the mass slaughter of civilized people-colonizers, as well as disease and spirits, which caused The number of Maori has dropped sharply. Today, the Maori of the two islands of New Zealand add up to 9 people. But the number of fighters who can go to the battlefield has reached [-], and they have sufficient strength to compete with the European army for several years."

"The Maori resisted foreign invasion so bravely, are they victorious now?" Mrs. Helen asked.

"Ma'am, they won. Even the invading British colonial authorities sincerely admired the bravery of the Maori. The Maori are good at guerrilla warfare, tactically elusive and flexible; General Kamorong was led by the nose by these Maori , was confused and helpless. In 1862, after a long and arduous war, the Maori successfully occupied an important fortress in the upper reaches of the Kukato River. The British colonial army was so jealous, especially after seeing their Commander Sprun being slaughtered by the Maori, every British soldier was furious, and made up his mind to kill the Maori. Therefore The Maori and British troops have been fighting fiercely. Many times they fought for twelve hours at a stretch. On the Maori side, the commander was Sergeant William Sampson; He is good at fighting and is not afraid of the British artillery. The number of soldiers has increased from 500 to more than 8000, and even Maori women have participated in the war. However, these Maori suffer from the lack of advanced elites. weapons; not long after, General Camoron reoccupied Kukato County..."

"When they occupy Kukato County, this war will be over!" Meng Ge asked.

"My friend, it's not over yet, it's still going on!" Paganel said. Fort Taitawa. However, the British army paid a heavy price for this greedy action. Before I left Paris, I heard the battle of this battle. It is said that the governor and general accepted the sincere surrender of the various tribes of Talanja , and at the same time promised to reserve three-quarters of the land to the tribe. It was circulated that William Sampson also wanted to surrender now, but there was no relevant news report in the Australian newspaper. Maybe the opposite is true, this brave and fearless The general is leading the Maori army to fight to the death with the British colonial authorities."

"Paganel, according to your current analysis, the flames of war have now spread from Taranaki to Auckland?" Sir Glenarvan asked worriedly.

"Well, I think so."

"It seems that it's all caused by the damn 'McGalli'! It just dragged us to Oakland."

"Yes! You know, we are now a few miles above the port of Koia. Koia is now under Maori rule."

"We might as well go north, it's safer!" Sir Glenarvan suggested.

"Well, a good way!" Paganel praised, "The Maori in New Zealand now hate Europeans; especially the British, so let's not enter the areas under the jurisdiction of these aboriginals."

"If we encounter a European army, isn't there hope of rescue?"

"Madam, we may meet; but I still hope not for the best. Because when you see them, you will definitely see many Maori soldiers. Maori guerrillas like to hide in the woods in the country; even There are Maori people in a small clump of woods and small grass trees... Speaking of which, I know there is a church on the west coast, we can walk there to rest and look around, and we can reach Auckland safely all the way. To tell you the truth, I would still like to continue walking along the route that Mr. Hauchett took along the Kuma Kato River!"

"Ah! This is a famous traveler!" Little Robert exclaimed.

"My boy, yes, that's right! He's also a scientist! The traveler came here in 1858 when he was on a round-the-world voyage."

When Robert Jr. heard the glorious history of this great traveler, his eyes lit up with admiration, and he said excitedly: "Mr. Paganel! In New Zealand, is there any great and outstanding traveler like Burke and Stuart?" Where is the great explorer?"

"Well, there were a few outstanding explorers. Such as the famous Dr. Hooker, the naturalist Defenbah, Professor Belissar, and Hurst. It is a pity that they did not have the great expeditions of Australia and Africa. The home is so prominent!"

"Mr. Paganel, will you describe it in detail?"

"My child, okay! Although you are young, you like learning and love knowledge so much. Let me tell you in detail!"

"Monsieur Paganel, thank you very much. I will listen now!"

"Speak, Monsieur Paganel! We'd like to hear it too. Get rid of the boredom of this damn weather!"

"Madam, I'd rather obey than respect!" Paganel said excitedly, "Now, let me tell you in detail! However, the experiences of these explorers are not too interesting or exciting. In New Zealand, there are no Like in Australia, there are no stories of people fighting the Minotaur. This is because it is not a big place, so there are no good places to explore. Therefore, the explorers who come here are not really explorers or travelers, at best they can only be Tourists only; and even though they lost their lives, it was only in accidents, not in heroic sacrifices..."

"Who are these people?" Madam Helen asked curiously.

"These people include the famous geometer Wei Gongbo and Howett. Horwitt is the explorer who I told you about the discovery of Burke's remains in the Vimaila River. Wei Gongbo and Howitt led the made two expeditions to the South Island. In the first half of 1863 the two set out from Christchurch on an expedition over the mountains of northern Canterbury. Horwitt crossed These mountains reached the Borenna Lake, and set up a base camp there. Wei Gongbo walked all the way from the direction of the Lakaya River Valley to the east of Dating Daer Mountain. The traveling companion with Wei Gongbo, named Rupp; this Rupp once wrote a long report in the "Littleton Times", recording the process of two people walking to the source of the Rakaya River-an iceberg. On April 1863, 4 One day, when the two of them reached the foot of the iceberg, they wanted to climb up the iceberg and find a way to cross the iceberg; Walked to the snow at an altitude of 22 feet, camped and camped. After walking the iceberg for seven full days, they found the way down the mountain. During these seven days, they really suffered a lot! All around the iceberg are There is a cliff, no life can survive, so there is no food to eat! The sugar they brought with them has turned into sugar paste, and the biscuits have become dough balls! Coupled with the mosquito bites along the way, The two men could only walk three miles a day at most! When they were too tired, they couldn't even walk two hundred yards! Finally, on April 4, the two explorers saw a Maori thatched hut, in the grass garden of the hut, some potatoes were found, and they barely ate their last meal. In the evening, the two walked to the seashore, which was very far from the mouth of the Taramacao River. They had to cross the river to get to the right bank of the river, and then go straight north to get there. As the Taramacau River was wide and deep, Rupu searched everywhere. It took more than an hour to find two small broken boats; after simple repairs and modifications, the two boats were tied together! In the evening, the two boarded the boat. Unexpectedly, the boat was already full of water when it reached the center of the river. Luckily, Mr. Wei could swim, so he jumped into the river and swam back to the left bank. He lived in a small boat and refused to let him go. Lupu was choked by a lot of river water and panicked, but fortunately he was able to save his life! The rushing river washed him to the rocks, and then the raging waves washed him ashore; He had passed out by then, and did not regain consciousness until the next day; at that time, Rupp could recognize his position, only a mile or so from where the two of them first crossed the river. After that, Lupu struggled and staggered forward; after a while, he found the body of his companion Wei Gongbo, who was stuck in the quagmire! Kind Lupu dug him out of the quagmire and buried him. Inside the sand. Rupp trudged along for two days , Almost starved to death!Fortunately, I met a New Zealand Maori - this is a kind Maori - and rescued him like this!After his recovery, he went to Lake Brenner, to the stronghold of Howett's camp.Unfortunately, the great explorer Horwitt also passed away. "

"God! These two people are really unfortunate! One is dead! The other has no way to survive!" Meng Ge said with emotion.

"Dear friend John, yes!" Paganel went on, "what a pity! It seems that fate is playing tricks on people! When the director of the Government Works Bureau, Wade commissioned Horwitt to develop a road from the Hununi Plain to the Taramacau. A road that can be passed by horses at the mouth of the river. Therefore, Horwitt led five people and set off on New Year's Day in 1863; Arrived at the Talamacoo River; when the river could not be crossed, the group could only return to Christchurch. Horwitt was a strong and brave man, and when the severe winter was coming, he insisted on Go on. His companion Wade didn't stop him; so Horwitt came to this blocked place for the second time. In order to survive the winter, he also brought enough food and things; it just so happened that Rupp When they came to him. On June 6th, Horwitt and his two companions left the camp and set out; Their boat was found; so the government authorities sent people to search for the bodies of these travelers, but after nine weeks of searching, they couldn't find them. Careful analysis showed that the three people could not swim, and they must have drowned in the lake. "

"Why don't people assume that these explorers are still living safe and sound in a certain New Zealand tribe? We haven't seen the bodies yet, so we can only say that their whereabouts are unknown, and they can be regarded as missing!" Madam Helen said.

"My dear lady, it is impossible!" Paganel explained, "this happened in August 1864; it has been a year now, but there is still no news; and in this part of New Zealand Region, if there is no news of a person within a year, there must be a catastrophe, and there is no hope of surviving!"

walk along the coast
At six o'clock in the morning on February 2th, Sir Glenarvan called his companions to set off as soon as possible.In the middle of the night, the torrential rain had stopped.At this time, there were still gray clouds floating in the sky; the sun was obscured and could not be seen.When the sun is still out, the weather is very cool, which is a good time for walking.

Paganel took out a map and calculated on it that the distance from Cape Point to Oakland was exactly eighty miles.It would take eight days to walk ten miles in 24 hours a day.Paganel, therefore, suggested that instead of following the winding coast, one should go to the village of Kanavasia, about thirty miles away, at the confluence of the Kumpa and Kato rivers.Because the village is the way of the stagecoach, there is naturally a stagecoach heading for Oakland.He suggested taking the stage-coach at the village of Kanavasia, and then resting a little at Drury; for in that village there was a first-class inn recommended by the eminent naturalist Hechitt.

Jazz and his party carried their dry food and guns on their backs, and started their journey along the northern coast of the Gulf of Austria.In order to prevent outsiders from attacking, they were very cautious and kept a certain distance from each other, but the distance was not too far so that they could echo each other.Everyone held their guns tightly, paying attention to the movement in the hilly area to the east.Paganel held a map of New Zealand, and from time to time praised the map for its accuracy!
Jazz and his party were on the road, stepping on the sandy beach filled with shells, and the sandy beach was also mixed with some natural iron oxide slag.Walking along the way, you can see some marine animals playing on the coast; these animals are very courageous, and they will not run away when they see people coming.There are also many seals lying on the ground, with round heads, very cute.There are many seals off the coast of New Zealand and the market for their skins and oil is very high and attracts many sealers.

Among the seals were three or four walruses, who were between twenty-five and thirty feet high.Their skin is blue-gray, with long noses that can be hard or soft, and long curly mustaches on their bodies, like the hair of some playboys.These walruses are also lazily lying on the beach, with a cute and naive attitude, which is very attractive.

While walking and watching, little Robert suddenly shouted:

"Ah! Why do seals still eat stones!"

Sure enough, a few seals were there devouring the stones in the beach.

"It's unbelievable, they really like to eat stones!" Paganel said in surprise.

"Can these stones be digested?" Little Robert asked puzzledly.

"Dear children, these seals don't eat stones to fill their stomachs! I think they eat stones to increase their body density and maintain their balance, so that they can dive into the bottom of the sea better. When these seals return to the coast from the bottom of the sea Then, they will spit out the stones again! Otherwise, you can look at those seals that ate the stones and are about to dive into the sea."

Sure enough, the few seals that ate the stones really dived into the depths of the sea.Everyone is very curious and wants to watch here, whether they will spit out the swallowed stones when they return to the shore.But Sir Glenarvan felt that it would delay the journey, and he still insisted on going on.Paganel has some regrets about this.

At ten o'clock, Jazz and his party walked on the beach at Snow Rock, where they rested and had breakfast.Aubine picked a lot of sea mussels on the beach, followed the cooking method provided by Paganel, and grilled them slowly over the fire, which tasted very good.

In the morning, everyone rested for a while and continued walking again.As the travelers continued along the bay, they saw countless birds flying among the rocks and sand.These birds include frigate birds, gannets, gulls.Travelers also saw stubby albatrosses perched on the cliffs, standing motionless.At four o'clock in the afternoon, Jazz and his party had walked about ten miles, and they were not tired yet.The two women asked to continue their journey and did not stop to rest until night fell.At this time, they successfully rounded the foot of the mountain to the north and reached the basin of the Kumpa River.

Seen from a distance, here is the endless green grass, but when you get closer, you can see that it is a piece of bushes; on the bushes, there are small white flowers, and under the bushes, there are thick and long flowers. Long ferns.It is only when the traveler reaches the bushes that he realizes the real difficulty of traveling.Jazz and his party worked hard to get out of this area and successfully crossed several slopes of the Hakarihuata Mountains.

(End of this chapter)