page xx

[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 21st August, 4th September, 2nd, 9th and 30th October, 1872.]

Chapter I.

"The position occupied by the great chief Te Rauparaha in connection with the establishment and earlier progress of the New Zealand Company's settlements in Cook Strait, would alone justify us in recording all that can still be learnt of the career of this remarkable man; but, when, in addition to the interest : which his personal history possesses for us in this respect, we find that he took a very important part in the events that occurred in these Islands between the years 1818 and 1840—leading as they did to an immense destruction of life amongst the then existing population, and to profound changes in the habits and character of the survivors—it becomes important, for the purposes of the future historian of the Colony, that we should preserve the most authentic accounts of his career, as well as of that of the other great chiefs who occupied, during; the period in question, positions of power and influence amongst the leading New Zealand tribes. As with Hongi, Te Waharoa, and Te Wherowhero in the North, so Te Rauparaha in the South carried on, during the interval referred to, wars of the most ruthless and devastating character, undertaken partly for purposes of conquest, and partly for the gratification of that innate ferocity for which the New Zealand ere have long been remarked. * * *

Page 32. It appears that in 1817, or about three years before E Hongi left for England, and after the failure of Te Rauparaha's attempt to form an alliance against Waikato, a large war party arrived at Kawhia under the command of Tamati Waka Nene and of his brother Patuone, who invited Rauparaha to join them in a raid upon the southern tribes. Tamati Waka's people had a considerable number of muskets on this occasion, but the expedition had no special object beyond slaughter and slave-making, with the added pleasure of devouring the bodies of the slain. Te Rauparaha joined them with many warriors, and the party travelled along the coast through the territory of the Ngatiawa whose alliance with Ngatitoa, however, saved them from [unclear: molesta-] page xxi tion. Hostilities were commenced by an attack upon Ngatiruanui, who were dispersed, after great slaughter. This first success was followed by attacks on all the tribes on the coast until the taua reached Otaki, great numbers of people being killed, and many slaves taken, whilst the remainder were driven into the hills and fastnesses, where many of them perished miserably from exposure and want. At Otaki the invaders rested, Rauparaha visiting Kapiti, which he found in possession of a section of the Ngatiapa tribe, under the chiefs Potau and Kotuku. It would seem that even at this time Te Rauparaha, who was much struck with the appearance of the country, formed a design of taking possession of it, and, with his usual policy, determined, instead of destroying the people he found on the Island, to treat them with kindness, though he and the other leaders compelled them to collect and [unclear: render] much greenstone, of which this tribe especially had, during a long intercourse with the Middle Island, and by means of their own conquests of the Ngaitahu, obtained large and valuable quantities. The hostile party then continued their course along the coast, destroying great numbers of people. On their arrival at Wellington, then called Whanganui-a-tara, they found that the inhabitants—a section of the Ngatikahungunu—alarmed at the approach of the ruthless invaders, had fled to the Wairarapa. Thither followed the [unclear: lana], and discovered the Ngatikahungunu, in great force, at a pa called Tawhare Nikau. Undaunted, however, by the strength of the fortress, they attacked and carried it with great slaughter. Large numbers of the unfortunate inhabitants escaped to the hills, where they suffered greatly, whilst the invaders, after following the fugitives as far as Kawakawa and Porangahau, killing many, fell back upon Tawhare Nikau, in order to gorge themselves upon the bodies of the slain. The party then returned to Wellington and proceeded to Omere, where they saw an European vessel lying off Raukawa, in Cook Strait. Tamati Waka Nene, immediately on perceiving the ship, shouted out to Te Rauparaha, "Oh, Raha, do you see that people sailing on the seal? They are a very good people, and if you conquer this land and hold intercourse with them you will obtain guns and powder, and become very great," Te Rauparaha apparently wanted but this extra incentive to induce him to take permanent possession of the country between Wellington and [unclear: Patea,] and at once determined to remove thither with his tribe, as soon as he could make such arrangements as would secure him in the possession of his intended conquest. The taua returned along the coast line as they had first come, killing or making prisoners of such of the inhabitants as they could find as far as Patea. It was during the return of this war party that Rangihaieata took prisoner a woman named Pikinga, the sister of Arapata Hiria, a Ngatiapa chief of high rank, and whom he afterwards made his slave wife, a circumstance much and absurdly insisted upon in favour of the page xxii Ngatiapa title during the investigations of the Native Lands Court into the Manawatu case. Laden with spoil, and accompanied by numerous slaves, the successful warriors reached Kawhia, where Tamati Waka Nene and Patuone with their party, left Te Rauparaha in order to return to their own country at at Hokianga.

As I have before mentioned, Te Rauparaha had, during the progress of this raid upon the South, conceived the idea of leaving the ancient possessions of his tribe at Kawhia for the purpose of settling at Kapiti, and upon the country on the main land in its vicinity; and, accordingly, after the period of festivity and rest usually indulged in by a returned taua, he began to take the necessary steps, not only to induce his own people to accept his resolution, but to enlist the sympathies and assistance of his relatives at Maungatautari and elsewhere. During a visit which he paid for this purpose to the Ngatiraukawa, he found their great chief Hape Tuarangi in a dying state, and; the circumstances which then occurred contributed greatly to the ultimate success of his designs. It appears that notwithstanding the respect in which the offspring of the Maori aristocracy are usually held by their own people, and the influence they generally exercise in matters affecting the tribe, it is not unusual for the natural ariki of a tribe, or chief of a hapu, to be, in some respects, supplanted by an inferior chief, unless the hereditary power of the former happens to be accompanied by intellect and bravery; and such an occurrence took place in regard to the natural hereditary ariki of the Ngatiraukawa at the death of Hape. Te Rauparaha himself, though by virtue of common descent, and by marriage ties, entitled to be treated as a chief of Ngatiraukawa, was not considered to be of high rank, on the grounds that, in the first place, he was the offspring of a junior branch of the ariki family of Tainui; and, in the next place, that the influence primarily due to his birth had been weakened by the intermarriage of his progenitors with minor chiefs and with women of other tribes. But when Hape, on his death bed, the whole tribe being assembled, asked "if his successor could tread in his steps and lead his people on to victory, and so keep up the honor of his tribe," not one of his sons, to whom, in succession, the question was put, gave any reply. After a long period of silence, Te Rauparaha, who was amongst the minor chiefs and people, sitting at a distance from the dying man and from the chiefs of high rank by whom he was surrounded, got up and said "I am able to tread in your steps, and even do that which you could not do." Hape soon after expired, and as Te Rauparaha had been the only speaker in answer to his question, the whole tribe acknowledged him as their leader, a position which he occupied to his dying day. But even in this position his authority was limited, for though in his powers of mind, and as a leader of a war party, he was admittedly unsurpassed, either by Te Waharoa or by the great Ngapuhi page xxiii thief, E Hongi, and therefore fully entitled to occupy a commanding position in the tribe, the mana which he acquired on the occasion in question extended only to the exercise of a species of protecting power and counsel whenever these were required, whilst the general direction of the affairs of the tribe still remained vested in their own hereditary chiefs. The influence he had obtained, however, materially aided him in ultimately inducing a large number of the tribe to join him in the conquest and settlement of the territory of the Ngatiapa, Rangitane, and Muaupoko, as will be shown in the sequel. * * *

Page 37. * * * He, therefore, never wavered in his design, and from the time when Tamaki Waka Nene pointed out the ship sailing in Cook Strait, until his actual departure from Kawhia at the head of his people, his mind and his energies were constantly engaged in devising the means of carrying it to a successful issue. * * *

Page 42. After all danger of further attack on the part of Waikato had ceased, Te Rauparaha determined, before resuming the movement southward, again to visit his friends at Maungatautari, in order to induce the latter, if possible, to join him in the expedition. For this purpose he travelled to Taupo taking the road from Taranaki by the Upper Wanganui and Tuhua. At Tahua he had a long conference with Te Heuheu, who promised to afford him any assistance he could in effecting his settlement at Kapiti and on the main land, but would not consent to take any other part in the undertaking. He then proceeded to Opepe, on Lake Taupo, where a large number of the Ngatiraukawa had assembled, under Whatanui, in order to discuss Te Rauparaha's proposals. Here a great tangi was held, at which Whatanui made a speech to Rauparaha, and gave him many presents, as they had not met for a length of time. After the ordinary ceremonies were concluded, Te Rauparaha again opened his proposals to the assembled chiefs, representing the many advantages that would accrue from adopting them, and particularly insisting on the opportunity it would give the tribe of obtaining abundant supplies of fire-arms, as Kapiti and other parts of Cook Strait had already begun to be visited by European ships. He also dwelt on the rich and productive character of the land, and the ease with which it might be conquered, whilst there was nothing to prevent, at the same time, a large number of the tribe from remaining at Maungatautari, in order to retain their ancient possessions there. To all this, however, Whatanui gave no reply, and the meeting broke up without any indication that any part of the tribe would join in the proposed expedition. Te Rauparaha then visited other sections of the tribe, and another great meeting took place, at which he was not present. At this meeting the chief objection raised was, that by joining Te Rauparaha he would become their chief, and there was an unwillingness on the part of the tribe, notwithstanding what had occurred at the death of Hape, entirely to throw off page xxiv their allegiance to their own hereditary arikis. This resolution was communicated to Te Rauparaha by Horohau, one of the sons of Hape, by Akau, then Rauparaha's wife, and the reasons specially assigned for it grieved Te Rauparaha very much. * * * Pomare then gave over to Rauparaha a number of men who had been under the leadership of Tuhourangi, who, from that time, became attached to and incorporated with Ngatitoa, and accompanied him on his return to Taranaki shortly after the sacrifice in question. On reaching Taranaki, he made preparations for continuing the migration, and succeeded in inducing Wi Kingi Rangitake, since celebrated in connection with the Waitara war, and his father, Reretawhangawhanga, with many others chiefs, and a considerable number of the Ngatiawa tribe, to accompany him, his followers then consisting of his own people (the Ngatitoa), numbering 200 fighting men, of the Ngapuhis, who had been transferred to him by Pomare, and of Wi Kingi's Ngatiawas, numbering nearly 400 fighting men, and their several families. During the interval between the commencement of the migration and its resumption from Taranaki, after Te Rauparaha's last return thither, a large war party of Waikatos, under Tukorehu, Te Kepa, Te Kawan (Apihai), and other chiefs, had descended the East Coast, from whence they invaded the territory which Te Rauparaha was about to seize. The Muaupoko, Rangitane, and Ngatiapa, were all attacked on this occasion, and again suffered great loss, a circumstance which became known to Te Rauparaha through some Ngatiraukawa men who had joined the Waikatos in their expedition, and had communicated its results to him during his last visit to Maungatautari. It appears, moreover, that after he had left Taupo, Whatanui and a large party of Ngatiraukawa made up their minds to join him at Kapiti, but instead of following the same route which he intended to take, they determined to proceed viâ Ahuriri, having been invited thither by the Ngatikahungunu, for some purpose which I cannot clearly make out. On their arrival there, however, a dispute took place between the two parties, and a battle ensued, in which the Ngatiraukawa were defeated with considerable slaughter, the remainder of the party being forced to retreat upon Maungatautari. * * *

Page 45. Amongst the leading chiefs who accompanied Rauparaha, was Rangihaeata, who, as will be remembered, had, during the previous invasion, taken prisoner a Ngatiapa woman of rank named Pikinga, whom he had made his slave-wife. When her brothers heard of the arrival of Ngatitoa at Wanganui, they, with a party numbering altogether twenty men, came to meet her, and accompanied Ngatitoa as far as the Rangitikei river. * * * Shortly after Rauparaha had settled at Ohau two of the chiefs of Muaupoko visited him, and offered, if he would come over to their pa page xxv at Papaitonga, to make him a present of several large canoes. He was extremely delighted at this offer, and at once consented to go. Rangihaeata, however, endeavoured to dissuade him, saying, "Raha, I have had a presentiment that you will be murdered by Muaupoko," but Rauparaha laughed at his fears; and, attracted by the prospect of obtaining the canoes—which had been glowingly described to him by the two chiefs—would not listen to any suggestions against the proposed visit. He even refused to take any large force with him, confining himself to a few men, and to some of his own children. It appears, however, that a plot had been laid between Turoa and Paetahi (father of Mete Kingi, lately one of the Maori members of the Assembly), chiefs of the Wanganui tribes, and the leading chiefs of the Muaupoko, to murder Te Rauparaha, and the invitation to Papaitonga, with the offer of the canoes, were only steps in the plot for that purpose. It is quite clear that he apprehended no danger, and that he fell into the trap laid for him with wonderful facility. It was evening when he and his companions arrived at the pa, where they were received by Toheriri, at whose house Rauparaha was to sleep. His people were all accommodated in different parts of the pa, Rauparaha alone remaining with Toheriri. The [unclear: urder] was to be committed at night by a war party from Horowhenua, and when Toheriri believed that his guest was fast asleep, he rose and went out, intending to inform the war party that Rauparaha was asleep in his house. His movements, however, aroused Te Rauparaha, who at once suspected some foul design, a suspicion which was soon converted into certainty by the cries of some of his people at the commencement of the bloody work. He then escaped from the house, and, being entirely unarmed, [unclear: feed] towards Ohau, which he succeeded in reaching, but quite naked. During the attack Rangihoungariri, who, it will be remembered, distinguished himself when Rauparaha's party were attacked by Ngatimaniapoto, near the river Mokau, had succeeded in getting well away, but hearing Hira's sister calling out to him that she would be killed, at once returned to her aid, but was soon over whelmed by numbers and slain, Te Poa, Hira's husband, having been killed previously. Hira, and a girl named Hononga, were not killed, but were carried off to Ruamahanga, in the Wairarapa, where the former afterwards married Taika, a distant relation of Rauparaha's. These two girls were the daughters of that Marore whom I mentioned in a former chapter as having been his boy wife. This treacherous murder provoked the wrath of Ngatitoa, who, from that time, proceeded to destroy Muaupoko without mercy. Toheriri was taken prisoner, and afterwards hung and eaten, undergoing dreadful tortures. Before this event Muaupoko were a somewhat powerful tribe, but their power was utterly broken by the Ngatitoa and their allies, in revenge for the attempted murder of their great chief. After this escape page xxvi Rauparaha settled at Ohau, and occupied the main land as far as Otaki, his war parties constantly hunting the people at Rangitikei, Manawatu, and Horowhenua. * * *

Page 49. He had no sooner retired to Kapiti, than the Rangitane erected a large pa at Hotuiti, on the north side of the Manawatu, within the tract now known as the Awahou Block, where they collected in force, and were joined by three Ngatiapa chiefs of note. Rauparaha hearing of this, determined to attack them, and he and Rangihaeata marched to Hotuiti with a well appointed taua, accompanied by Pikinga, who, on the arrival of the party before the pa, was sent into it to direct the Ngatiapa chiefs to retire to the district occupied by that tribe on the north side of the Rangitikei river. This they declined to do, and Rauparaha then sent messengers to the Rangitane, offering peace, and desiring that their chiefs should be sent to his camp to settle the terms. Being advised by the Ngatiapa chiefs to accept the offer, they sent their own head men to Rauparaha's quarters, where they were at once ruthlessly slain, and whilst the people in the pa, ignorant of this slaughter, and believing that hostilities were suspended, were entirely off their guard, it was rushed by the Ngatitoa, and taken after a very feeble resistance, the greater number of the unfortuate people and their families, as well as the three Ngatiapa chiefs, being slaughtered and devoured, such prisoners as were taken being removed to Waikanae in order to undergo the same fate. After this treacherous affair, Rauparaha and his force returned to Waikanae, where they indulged in feasting and rejoicing, little dreaming that any attempt would be made to attack them. It appears, however, that the Ngatiapa at Rangitikei, incensed at the slaughter of their three chiefs, determined to revenge their loss, and for this purpose had collected a considerable war party, which was readily joined by the refugees from Hotuiti and by a number of Muaupoko from Horowhenua. Led by Te Hakeke, they fell upon the Ngatitoa at Waikanae during the night, killing upwards of sixty of them, including many women and children, amongst the latter being the four daughters of Te Pehi. At the commencement of the attack, a canoe was despatched to Kapiti for reinforcements, which were at once sent, and upon their arrival the enemy fled, but without being pursued. In consequence of this attack, Rauparaha and Rangihaeata became (to use the words of Matene Te Whiwhi) "dark in their hearts in regard to Ngatiapa." and resolved to spare no efforts to destroys them, as well as the remnants of Rangitane and Muaupoko.

Rauparaha had, of course, become aware of the defeat of Whatanui and the Ngatiraukawa in their attempt to reach Kapiti by the East Coast, but immediately after the departure of the Ngatiawa he had sent emissaries to Taupo, in order again to urge upon the chiefs to join him in the occupation of; the country he had conquered. In the meantime, however, a storm was page xxvii brewing which threatened utterly to destroy him and his people. Ratu, the Muaupoko chief who had been enslaved by Te Pehi, escaped from Kapiti and fled to the Middle Island. Being anxious to avenge the destruction of his tribe, he proceeded to organize an alliance between the tribes occupying the southern shores of Cook Strait and those which held the country from Patea to Rangitikei, on the North, and the Ngatikahungunu at Wanganuiatera and Wairarapa, on the South, for the purpose of attacking Rauparaha with a force, which, in point of numbers, at least, should be irresistible. In the formation of the desired alliance he was completely successful, and about the end of the fourth year after the first arrival of the Ngatitoa, nearly 2,000 warriors assembled between Otaki and Waikanae, consisting of Ngarauru, from Waitotara; the people of Patea, Wanganui, Wangaehu, Turakina and Rangitikei, the Rangitane of Manawatu, and the Ngatikahungunu, Ngatiapa, Ngatitumatakokiri, Rangitane and Ngatikuia, from the Middle Island. They were provided with ample means of transport, "the sea on the occasion of their attack," to use the words of my informant, who was present on the occasion, "being covered with canoes, one wing reaching Kapiti from Otaki, whilst the others started almost simultaneously from Waikanae." The landing of the warriors composing the right wing was effected about four in the morning, but the alarm having already been given by the chief Nopera, who had discovered and notified their approach, the invaders were at once attacked by the Ngatitoa, of Rangatira, with great fury, whilst messengers were at the same time despatched to Taepiri, where Rauparaha lay with the bulk of his people, to inform him of the invasion. Before he could reach the scene of the conflict, however, the enemy had succeeded in pushing the Ngatitoa towards Waiorua, at the northern end of the Island. Pokaitara, who was in !command, being desirous of gaining time in order to admit of the arrival of reinforcements, proposed a truce to the enemy, which was granted by Rangimairehau, a Ngatiapa chief, by whom they were led, who hoped, on his side, during the truce, to be able to land the rest of his forces, and then effectually to crush the Ngatitoa. Shortly after the truce had been agreed to, Rauparaha and his warriors reached the scene of action, and at once renewed the battle with the utmost vigor; and, after a long and sanguinary conflict, completely defeated the invaders, with tremendous slaughter; not less than 170 dead bodies being left on the beach, whilst numbers were drowned in attempting to reach the canoes that were still at sea. The remainder of the invading force made their way, with all speed, to Waikanae and other points of the coast, where many of them landed, abandoning their canoes to the Ngatitoa, who had commenced an immediate pursuit. After the battle Rauparaha composed and sang "a song of triumph," the words of which I regret that I have not been able to obtain. The result was in every way page xxviii advantageous to his people, for no further attempt was ever made to dislodge them, whilst they, on the other hand, lost no opportunity of strengthening their position and of wreaking vengeance on the Ngatiapa, Rangitane, and Muaupoko, the remnant of whom they ultimately reduced to the condition of the merest tributaries, many of the leading chiefs, including Te Hakeke, becoming slaves. It would be useless for me to give anything like a detailed account of the incursions of the Ngatitoa into the country on the main land, often extending as far as Turakina, in which numbers of the original inhabitants were killed and eaten, or reduced to slavery; but it is perfectly clear that their power was completely broken, and that after Waiorua, the Ngatitoa and their allies found no enemy capable of checking their movements. The news of the battle having reached Taranaki, with rumours of Rauparaha's astounding success, Te Puaha, with a detachment of Ngatiawa, came down to Kapiti in order to learn the truth of the matter, and having ascertained how completely Rauparaha had defeated his enemies, he returned to Taranaki for the purpose of bringing down a number of his people to join the Ngatitoa in their settlement of the country, as well as to take part in the prosecution of Rauparaha's further designs. Accordingly, he shortly afterwards brought with him, from Taranaki, a considerable number of fighting men, with their families, consisting partly of Ngatiawa proper, partly of Ngatihinetuhi, and partly of Ngatiwhakatere, being members of a hapu of Ngatiraukawa, who had escaped from a defeat on the Wanganui River, and had incorporated themselves with the Ngatiawa. This formed an important accession to the force under Rauparaha, which received further additions shortly afterwards from Te Ahu Karamu, a Ngatiraukawa chief of high rank, who, against the feeling of his people, had determined to join his great Ngatitoa kinsman. This chief, having heard from Rauparaha's emissaries of the difficulties in which he was likely to be placed by the defection of the Ngatiawa, had started from Taupo with 120 armed men, of his own immediate following, and arrived at Kapiti shortly after the battle of Waiorua, and then took part in many of the raids upon the original tribes which occurred after that event. After remaining with Rauparaha for some months he returned to Taupo with part of his followers, where he reported the improved position of Ngatitoa, and urged his own section of the tribe to join them. Finding them still unwilling to do so, and being determined to effect his object, he ordered the whole of their houses and stores to be burned down, declaring it to be the will of the atua or spirit, angry at their refusal to obey the words of their chief This being done the people gave way, and he took the necessary measures for the journey. In the meantime Whatanui and Te Heuheu had also determined to visit Rauparaha, in order to inspect the country he had conquered; the former chieftain intending, if it met his approval, to carry out his original page xxix design of joining the Ngatitoa in its occupation. In pursuance of this determination they, with a strong force of their own warriors, joined Te Ahu Karamu's party, the whole travelling down the Rangitikei river along the route followed by Te Ahu on his previous journey. During this journey they attacked and killed any of the original inhabitants whom they happened to fall in with. This migration is known amongst the Ngatiraukawa as the keke whirinui, owing to the fact that the whiri, or plaited collars of their mats were made very large for the journey. * * * On the arrival of this keke at Kapiti, Te Heuheu and Whatanui held a long conference with the Ngatitoa chieftains, and Whatanui was at last persuaded to bring down his people. * * * Before the return of Whatanui and his people to Kapiti, that place had been visited by some European whale ships, and Rauparaha at once traded with them for guns and ammunition, giving in exchange dressed flax and various kinds of fresh provisions, including potatoes. I may mention that until the arrival of the Ngatitoa the potato had been unknown in the Manawatu district, but at the time I now speak of it was extensively cultivated between that place and Taranaki, and formed one of the staple articles of food of the natives. He had no sooner obtained a supply of fire-arms and ammunition than he resolved to carry out his long-conceived intention of invading the Middle Island, a design in which he was greatly aided by the capture of the war canoes which had been abandoned by the allied forces after the battle of Waiorua; but, although he at once made preparations for carrying out his project he postponed its actual execution until after the return of Whatanui. Shortly before the visit of the ships with which Rauparaha had carried on his wade, Te Pehi observing one passing through Cook Strait, went out to her in a canoe, and, having managed to conceal himself until the canoe had left her, be succeeded ultimately in reaching England, his design being, like that of E Hongi, to obtain a supply of fire-arms and ammunition. His visit to England, where he was known under the name of Tupai Cupa, evidently a corruption of Te Pehi Kupe, is described in the volume for 1830 of "The Library of Entertaining Knowledge." We are enabled by means of this incident to fix the dates of some of the principal events in Rauparaha's career, for we know that it was in 1826 that Pe Pehi managed to secrete himself on board the vessel above referred to.

Rauparaha's immediate designs were in the meantime somewhat interfered with by a rupture between a section of his people and the Ngatitama, under Puaha, some fighting taking place, which resulted in a loss to both sides; but he at once peremptorily ordered peace to be made, an order which was obeyed by both sides. It seems that this dispute arose out of the occupation of some of the conquered land, which was claimed by both parties, and Waitohi, a sister of Rauparaha, foreseeing that constant disputes were page xxx likely to arise from the same cause, more especially when their numbers were increased by the expected arrival of the main body of the Ngatiraukawa unless there was some definite arrangement as to the division of the country between them, suggested to Rauparaha that the Ngatiawa should all remove to Waikanae, and should occupy the land to the south of the Kukutaueki, stream whilst the country from the north bank of that stream as far as the Wangaehu should be given up to the Ngatiraukawa. This suggestion was adopted by all parties, and it was determined that the Ngatiraukawa, already with Rauparaha, should at once proceed to occupy Ohau, then in the possesion of the Ngatiawa. Having been assembled for this purpose they were escorted to their new location by Rauparaha and all the principal chiefs of the Ngatitoa, travelling along the beach. On their way up they were feasted by Ngativahirs (a hapu of Ngatiawa) upon the flesh of black fish, a large school of which had been driven ashore at low water, where the natives ingeniously tethered them by their tails with strong flax ropes, killing them as they were wanted for food. The Ngatiraukawa having been put into quiet possession of the houses and cultivations of the Ngatiawa, the latter removed to Wakanae, which continued for some time afterwards to be their principal settlement. The wisdom of Waitohi's suggestion above referred to is apparent from the fact that no further land disputes occurred between the several tribes until the fighting at Horowhenua many years afterwards, as will be related in the sequel.

Between this event and the date of Whatanui's return to Kapiti with the main body of his people, a heke composed of 140 fighting men with their families—called the heke kariritahi, from the circumstance that the warriors armed with muskets, had enlarged the touch-holes so as to be enabled (shrewd fellows as they were) to keep up a more rapid fire upon an enemy by saving the trouble of priming—came down from Maungatautari under the command of Taratoa. Whatanui accompanied this heke for the purpose of conferring with Rauparaha on matters of importance, but finding that the chief was absent, he at once returned to Taupo in order to bring down his people. The constant arrival of these armed bodies, and the manner in which they roamed over the Manawatu and Rangitikei districts, treating the remnant of the Ngatiapa and other original tribes with the greatest rigour, induced the latter to throw themselves upon the hospitality of the Ngatikahungunu at Wairarapa. In pursuance of this resolve, some 300 of them, including women and children, proceeded thither, but in consequence of a murder, followed by an act of cannibalism, which had been committed by some of the Rangitane upon a Ngatikahungunu man not long before, that tribe not only refused to receive the refugees, but attacked and drove them back with slaughter. The Ngatiapa then formally placed themselves at the mercy of Rangihaeata, whose connections page xxxi so frequently alluded to with a chief of their tribe induced him to treat them with leniency, and they were accordingly permitted to live in peace, but in a state of complete subjection, The remnant of Muaupoko, in like manner sought the protection of Tuauaine, a chief of the Ngatiawa, who agreed to defend them against the long standing wrath of Te Rauparaha; but, as it appears in vain, for it seems that having been informed by some of the Ngatiraukawa that these people were again settling at Papaitonga and Horowhenua, Rauparaha and Rangihaeata, with a war party of Ngatitoa and Ngatiraukawa proceeded thither and attacked them, killing many, and taking a number of others prisoners, amongst whom was Toheriri, their chief. * * *

Page 55. In about a year after the visit of Whatanui with Te Heuheu the former returned to Kapiti with the main body of his tribe, this migration being known as the heke mairaro, or "heke from below." the north point being always treated by the Maoris as downward. From that time forth for some years parties of the same tribe constantly recruited their countrymen in their settlements on the Manawatu, gradually extending their occupation over the whole country between Otaki and Rangitikei, although their chief stations were in the Horowhenua and Ohau districts; whilst the Ngatiapa, under the protection of Rangihaeata and Taratoa, occupied some country on the north of the Rangitikei, yielding tribute to both of these chiefs as a condition of their being left in peace.