On the 17th of May, the weather appearing threatening, we signalized the schooner Eliza, and under the pilotage of her captain, who came aboard of us, we kept off for Milford Haven Bay, intending to lay there during the continuance of the gale, and in the meantime to supply ourselves with wood and water, quantities of which can be had _ad libitum_ in its vicinity. After beating about with light winds, and considerable towing with the boats, we contrived to drop our anchor at 8 o’clock in the evening, in sixteen fathoms of water, about a ship’s length from the shore. Lines were then run from the stern and secured to the rocks, so that we soon had her snugly moored stem and stern. The schooner Eliza was, latterly, very successful; having captured two whales, one of which she lost through stress of weather--the other, when tried out, furnished sufficient oil to till about sixty barrels, and her captain informed me would reimburse the owners for all outlay on the vessel--provisions being very cheap in this part of the world. Never did I see better meat, or sweeter flour, than the specimens of each this schooner had aboard; both were the produce of New Zealand, and the meat, having been but a short time salted, was much better than ours. As in port anybody is at liberty to board a whaler and get his dinner, we often availed ourselves of the privilege, as did they in boarding us; the molasses aboard of our ship being the center of attraction to them; also the biscuit, which to them is a rarity--they only using their flour baked into soft bread. All lived alike, fore and aft. Little discipline prevailed; the captain was called Tom, and the mate Bill. The shipkeeper and steward were men interested in the vessel, both old English men-of-war’s men, who had early settled on the island, and reared families--having married native women. From these men I learned that a marriage between two of the half-caste was always barren, never begetting offspring; but a half-caste man or woman intermarrying with the whites or native New Zealanders, were remarkable for their number of children. I was much pleased with these Mauriis; they were intelligent, courageous, and sprightly. Their songs, delivered with all the gusto of a half-civilized nature, possessed great interest. In their war songs they become imbued with the spirit of their music, and perform most curious antics, attended by horrid contortions of features. Their love songs, too, were accompanied by numerous gestures, one of them taking the lead, and the others joining in the chorus. These love songs were said, by those acquainted with their language, to consist of all that was licentious and disgusting; but to us who did not understand a word of them, it made very little difference. They also performed a pantomime, which, from its ridiculousness, excited our risibilities to prolonged laughter, to their great satisfaction.