Captain Grant's Children

Chapter 47 The River of Nations (1)
Its daybreak.The dense fog gently diffused over the river surface, dense and dense, as if it was still in a deep sleep.The sun is coming out.Under the radiance of Wan Dao Xiaguang, it is like thousands of strands of gold and silver threads, piercing through the thin layer of clouds and mists, and drilling into the river water.I saw that the fog on the water surface was getting thinner and thinner, and the color of the river water appeared, making the whole water area look extraordinarily enchanting.The Kuma Kato River in the morning light looks so radiant.It was a very long and narrow peninsula, surrounded by lush green shrubs, stretching neatly and firmly between the rivers.From the looks of it, its head is so pointed and so long that it seems to be completely submerged in the water when viewed from a distance.

At this time, the Kumapa River was flowing rapidly, and on one side of the peninsula, it blocked the waterway of the Kumakato River with a turbulent momentum, and it was likely to be the first to go.However, the Kuma Katuo River is not weak, restraining the presumptuous river water with a completely calm and unusual character and a calm and powerful momentum, it slowly drags down the flow of the Kuma Pa River; yes, Mr. Baichuan When returning to the sea, the guests and hosts always have an order; this majestic and deep river carries the impatient and rushing river into the boundless Pacific Ocean.The sun shone all over the river, and all the fog cleared away immediately.A long boat is sailing upstream in this river.

I saw that the long boat was 70 feet long, 5 feet wide, and 3 feet deep.The bow of the ship is slightly high, just like a traffic ship in Venice.If you look closely, you will find that this long boat is actually made of the trunk of a "Kashikati" fir.There also seemed to be a layer of dried ferns on the bottom of the boat.There are 8 oars installed at the front of the boat, one can imagine how fast it is.

At the stern sat a man with a long oar, and it was he who was steering the ship.

This is clearly an aborigine, with a burly body, strong limbs, and protruding muscles.Look at his fierce face: his forehead is covered with thick wrinkles, there is a big aquiline nose, and the yellow eyes radiate a fierce light.

It seems that he should be a chief, about 45 years old.From the tattoos all over his body, it can be inferred that he has a lot of power in the tribe.

Seen from the nose, there are two jet-black spirals piercing through the eye sockets respectively, and then making a cross on the forehead, and then piercing deeply into the thick beard and hair.

There are also colorful patterns around his mouth, symmetrically encircling patterns like swirling clouds and flowing water, and the patterns continue to his broad and firm chest.

New Zealanders regard tattoos as a sign of top honor.Only those who have participated in many wars and performed particularly well in the wars can be qualified to tattoo this proud pattern.Of course, slaves and civilians dare not even think about it.

On the body of some famous chiefs in New Zealand, they are all tattooed with various shapes of animal figures, as long as you look at the nature and thickness of the patterns, you can know their status and power.

There are even some chiefs who have endured pain and tattooed their bodies many times, and there are many people with as many as five or six times.

According to Ju Mengjuweier, the role of tattoos is similar to the family emblems that European nobles are proud of.The difference is that the aristocratic emblem can be used by future generations besides the person himself; however, the tattoo pattern only marks the bravery and extraordinary of the individual, and no one else can follow it.

In addition, Maori tattoos have a particularly practical benefit: to increase the thickness of the skin, to protect against cold and cold, and to prevent mosquito bites and stings.

The chief in charge of the boat standing in front of him has already been pricked five times by the Maori gardener with the albatross' sharp bone spurs. This kind of honor gave him a particularly arrogant and domineering expression.

He wore a Formion linen cloak with dog skins dotted on it, and a short skirt tied around his waist, which was stained with fresh blood red blood.It appears that he has been in combat recently.

Green jade rings hang on his ears, and around his neck are several circles of "Punam" bead chains ("Punam" is a more sacred jade, which is a kind of superstition among New Zealanders. meaning exists).

He carried a British-made spear by his side, and hung a "batubatu"-a double-edged ax-about 2 feet long and looking emerald green.

Standing in front of him were 9 warriors, all of them full of murderous expressions.Some of them seemed to be wounded, wearing Formion overcoats, sitting in the boat in an orderly manner.

Lying next to them were three vicious dogs with the same fierce faces as people.

The eight oarsmen in front of the boat are like servants of the chief.They were rowing the long boat with all their might.Because the river was not in a hurry, the long boat going up against the water was moving forward like an arrow.

In the center of this long boat, there were 10 captured Europeans.They were all huddled together and motionless.Because each of their respective feet were tightly bound.And these ten captives were none other than Glenarvan and his companions.

It turned out that because of the fog and darkness last night, the group of them strayed into the Maori hut of the aborigine. In fact, it was not a pile of trees at all.

midnight.The natives captured them all.

However, the Maori did not mistreat them; nor did they resist—because their guns were all seized, and if they resisted and struggled a little, they would be killed by their own guns.

This group of Maori must have withdrawn after losing the battle.In the fierce battle with the British army, they lost 42 to [-]% of their men.As far as the current chief's soldiers are concerned, most of them were killed by the [-]nd Brigade.Right now, he plans to recruit the tribes along the river, and then join forces with William Sampson to continue the war against the British.

The chief's name sounds terrible. It is called "Bone Nibbler", which means to eat the limbs of the enemy.He is brave and courageous, but he is also irritable, self-willed and extremely vicious.

Among the British soldiers, his name was known to everyone, and everyone knew it.Recently, the Governor of New Zealand is offering a reward for his capture.

Is there any chance of survival in the hands of such a man?What a mistake that caused eternal hatred!The hope was already in front of my eyes: I went back to Europe from Auckland smoothly, but I didn't expect such an accident to happen! ——Glenarvan really thought so at the moment: Oh, it's too late to regret! —but his face deliberately pretended to be calm and determined.

Yes, in the face of major crises and difficulties, the Jazz can always show a demeanor that is not afraid of adversity and calm in times of crisis.

He sincerely felt the responsibility on his body; to Helen, he was her husband; to his companions, he was the captain!He is the backbone of everyone's unity, and he must give everyone strength and courage to face everything that is about to happen!
Yes, he was ready; if it would cost his life for everyone's safety, then he would rather die himself!He believes that God will be moved by his piety, and stand up bravely and fairly to eradicate violence and bring peace to the people.

Others also took Jazz as an example, and each of them showed extremely strong perseverance and a noble state of mind.They didn't care about anything anymore. Facing death, they remained steadfast, frightening the group of Maori with their expressions of seeing death as if they were at home.

Maori, like any indigenous people in the world, take self-respect very seriously, because it is the strength that comes from the blood!
The strength and bravery shown by Glenarvan and his companions won the respect of these New Zealanders invisibly.

This group of New Zealanders, like all aboriginals, likes to be silent by nature. They have basically said nothing since they sailed from the camping point.

However, from their few words, Glenarvan learned that they understood English, so he began to talk to the bone gnawer in a particularly calm and forceful tone:

"Where do you want to take us, Chief?" The bone gnawer gave him a gloomy look, without even moving his lips.

Glenarvan didn't care about the chief's expression, so he continued to ask: "How do you want to deal with us?" The bone gnawer said with a vicious look in his eyes, "If the people over there are willing to , I will exchange you back; if not, I will kill you.”

All at once it became clear to Glenarvan that the hope of survival was not hopeless.The Maori were trying to use them in exchange for prisoners of war - several Maori chiefs were certain to have fallen to the British.

The long boat whizzed across the river like an arrow.Paganel's mood at this moment is changing rapidly like the spaceship on the river, hot and cold, ups and downs, full of great hope for a while, and extreme disappointment for a while.

As long as he thinks that he and his companions will be sent to the British defense line, his mood will be a little more stable, and he will even feel a little lucky.

I saw him looking at the map as if nothing had happened, and at the same time glanced at Jiang Liu with his eyes, his posture seemed to be sure of the future.

Mrs. Helen and Mary inevitably felt a little panicked, and exchanged glances and winks with each other from time to time.On the other hand, Madam Helen whispered to Glenarvan something that had nothing to do with what was on her mind, without saying a word, in order to cover up the anxiety in her heart.

The Kuma Kato River is regarded by New Zealanders as a national symbol, just like the Rhine River is to the Germans and the Danube River is to the Slavs.

This river runs through the two provinces of Wellington and Auckland, bringing extremely rich water resources to the North Island.All the tribes on both sides of the river are named after Jiang. They love this national river very much, and they are proud to own it.

As the saying goes, one side of water and soil nurtures one side of people, and the ancestors of all the tribes in the Kuma Katuo River area are as tenacious, brave and indomitable as this galloping river.Now, they are fighting the incoming enemy with heroic and fearless spirit.

On the river of this nation, most of the boats that come and go are Maori single-log boats, and almost no foreign ships or foreigners pass by.Occasionally, some adventurers will appear, and they come here for sightseeing.Usually, European naturalists never care about it easily.

In this regard, Paganel's heart could not be more clear.At this moment he was wondering where he and his companions would be taken.

(End of this chapter)