The New Zealand Journal 1842-1844 of John B. Williams of Salem, Massachusetts. Edited with an account of his Life by Robert W. Kenny.
Salem: The Peabody Museum, 1956. First Printing of the First US Edition. A Fine copy with glassine cover. Williams's narrative more like a memoir than a journal, was written during his first residence at the Bay of Islands as US consul during 1842-1844. The journal is a gathering of odd facts and personal opinion. He describes the early white settlements of the North Island, navigational aids for approaching harbors, the character and customs of the Maori tribes, the flora and fauna of the region, native products of possible commercial value and the censurable behavior of American whaling crews he saw when he arrived.
"There were innumerable grog-shops - those 'lowest depths of hell!' - and drunken sailors shambled from one to another, creating mayhem in the streets. The Yankee whalers were nothing better than floating castles of prostitution, swarming with women who had been sent on board by certain white residents of Kororareka - 'a covetous and malicious people, malignant whisperers, full of envy and every evil" Item #28138
Price: $75.00 save 20% $60.00