had eaten
about one fourth of their number. The race now numbers only thirty-six
or thirty-eight thousand, though it is certain it aggregated a hundred
thousand and more one century ago. It seems that a half-caste man or
woman rarely lives to the age of forty years, and of the pure-blooded we
saw comparatively few old persons. Now and then one was met, hideous of
feature, whose deeply indented wrinkles rivalled the lines of tattoo,
and who was bent in figure, decrepit, and bereft of most of the human
faculties. Such a one, perhaps, was not so extremely old in years, but
was prematurely aged. They are all most inveterate smokers, men, women,
and children; and you can give a Maori maiden of "sweet sixteen" nothing
more acceptable to her taste than a pipe and a plug of smoking-tobacco.

We were told before going among these New Zealand aborigines that they
had been Christianized; that is to say, they had discarded idolatry and
the doctrines of their fathers, and accepted the gospel as propounded to
them by the white missionaries. But this was not found to be exactly
true. If large numbers of them have at times professed Christianity,
many of the "converted" have also returned to their mumbo-jumbo faith.
Half of them, we judge, have never even pretended to be Christians.
Before you can _convert_ savages, you must in a degree _humanize_ them;
and this humanizing process has yet to be accomplished among this race.
The Maoris live nearly like the lower class of animals, preferring that
sort of life even after half a century of intercourse with the whites.
They may for policy's sake listen to, and pretend to accept
Christianity, as many of the Chinese are known to do; but both races, it
is well understood, return to their original faith at the first
opportunity. The modern Maori accepts the creed of the missionaries
because it is the easiest thing for him to do; but he still believes in
witchcraft, the evil-eye, and sorcery as openly practised by his
designing priests. The Roman Catholic faith, which addresses itself so
palpably to the eye by form and ceremony, is most popular among them,
and has by far the largest number of professed adherents of any
denomination.

The Maoris isolate themselves mostly in what is called the King's
Country of the North Island, which embraces the Hot Lake District; and
here they live under their own rule and customs. Their king is absolute
in the domain claimed by them, which is held inviolate