The Prophet of the Rocky Mountain.

The late Rua Kenana, or Ruatapu-nui, the spiritual leader of many hundreds of people of the Urewera and related tribes was one of those strongly individual characters who give a touch of dramatic colour to a commonplace world. He was an uncommonly keen-witted man, a shrewd judge of his fellowmen, and an actor of high degree. But it must not be concluded hastily that he was a charlatan, like so many other faith-healers and popular preachers of many lands. He posed grandly, he startled the common folk, but it was all part of a purpose. He was first of all a patriotic champion of Maori racial independence, like Te Whiti of Taranaki. When I first made Rua's acquaintance, nearly thirty years ago, I was disposed to regard him as a rather cunning fellow who traded on the people's superstitious veneration and readiness to follow a theatrical figure with a mysterious and adventurous background. But his later history induced me to revise that mental attitude. I came to like the longhaired prophet for his courage, his strong clan feeling—aroha ki te iwi— and his admirable spirit of rebellion against the conventions.