n was cruising about the Pacific, or South Sea, he skirted the
coast of the islands. That was in 1642. About one hundred and forty
years afterward Captain Cook called at the islands and annexed them as
an English possession, but the English government refused to take them.
Early in the nineteenth century missionaries brought the Bible to the
native Maoris, and at the same time lawless traders carried liquor and
firearms to those same natives. What was still worse, they kept on
supplying them with liquor and firearms until there were but a few
thousand natives left.

The Maoris are the most remarkable native peoples of the Pacific. They
were not the original people of New Zealand, however, for they drove
away the black race--probably like that of New Guinea--which they found
there. Like the Hawaiians and Fijians, the Maoris came from Samoa about
five centuries ago. Their traditions about their journey are clear and
exact; even the names of the canoes, or barges, in which they made the
journey are preserved in Maori history. First they went to Rarotonga, an
island of the Cook group; then they went to New Zealand.

[Illustration: Maori pa, or village]

Long before white men had settled in New Zealand, the Maoris had made
great advances toward civilization. They had become wonderful carvers in
wood; they were also expert builders, weavers, and dyers. No better
seamen could be found in the Pacific. War was their chief employment,
however, and tribal wars were always going on in some parts or other of
the islands. One may compare them in progress to the tribes of New York
just before the Iroquois confederacy was formed.

Two large and a small island make up the greater part of New Zealand.
North Island is a little smaller than New York State; South Island is a
little larger; Stewart Island is half the size of Rhode Island.

Aside from these, the Chatham, Auckland, and part of the Cook group--in
fact, pretty nearly every outlying group that can be used for cattle and
sheep growing--are included in the New Zealand colony. This industry is
the reason for the existence of New Zealand; it is the great
meat-producing market of Great Britain.

The two largest islands of New Zealand form a great plateau. Mountain
ranges border the edges, and fertile, well-watered lowlands are between
the ranges. The ranges and valleys, together with hundreds of lakes, are
beautiful to the eye; they could not be better for a great grazing
indust