Chapman.— 0?i the Worhivg of Greenstone. 491 



name of Poutini — I suppose, from the mythical name of Nga- 

 hue's fish-god or stone. 



The Poutmi-Ngaitahu had shortly after their first occupa- 

 tion to fight for their conquest, being attacked by Ngatitu- 

 mata-Kokiri, a tribe dwelling farther north on that coast and 

 about Massacre Bay, with whom they had frequent fights 

 about the right to catch ground-birds in the upper Grey and 

 Buller districts. This tribe, which seems to have had a war- 

 like career, and was ultimately destroyed to the last man in 

 fighting North Island invaders, is supposed to be the same 

 which attacked Tasman's boat in Massacre Bay in 1642. 



Mr. Stack puts the visit of Eau Eeka about 1700 ; but 

 thinks that traffic in greenstone had probably sprung up 

 between Ngatiwairangi and the North Island tribes bordering 

 on Cook Strait long before it became known to Ngaitahu. 

 The existence of such a traffic is proved by reference to green- 

 stone implements in North Island traditions of earlier date ; 

 but apparently these references are very rare in the earliest 

 traditions. 



Nga-ti-toa Invasion of the South Island. — Eaupakaha. 



Ml'. W. T. L. Travers, in his channing but sanguinary 

 narrative of " The Life and Times of Te Eauparaha " (Trans. 

 N.Z. Inst., vol. v., p. 19), shows the connection between 

 the bloody raids of that great Ngatitoa chieftain into this 

 Island and the lust for greenstone. Eauparaha had been 

 squeezed out of liis own country, Kawhia, and had, in con- 

 junction with his allies Ngatiraukawa. who likewise had 

 wandered from their home in the centre of the Island, occupied 

 as a stronghold the Island of Kapiti, in Cook Strait, and as 

 much as he could hold of the mainland. A chief of Ngaitahu 

 named Eerewhaka imprudently boasted that he would rip 

 open Eauparaha's belly with a shark's tooth. Nominally to 

 avenge this, but really out of lust for conquest, Eauparaha 

 made a series of sanguinary expeditions down the coast of 

 this Island, in the course of which Eerewhaka was killed and 

 many of his people made slaves. The Ngaitahu were known 

 to be rich in greenstone, and, according to Mr. Travers, Eau- 

 paraha longed to add the acquisition of such treasures to the 

 gratification which he would derive from wreaking vengeance 

 on the Ngaitahu chieftain for the insult under which he had 

 so long sufl'ered. Ngaitahu of Kaikoura and Amuri had long 

 been in the habit of sending war-parties across the Island 

 for the purpose of killing and plundering the inhabitants of 

 the district in which it was obtained, and at this time a branch 

 of their tribe held that country as conquerors. There were 

 two routes in this quarter. The expedition sometimes passed 

 through the Tarndale country to the upper Waiauuha, and 



