DowNES. — Early History of Rangitikei. 105 



besides, there were a number of women taken prisoners, but none of them 

 of any great name. Te Waitene wanted to kill Hura's tAvo children in 

 revenge for his sister Ngoki ; but Rangi-te-ika, of the Nga Wairiki, would 

 not consent to this ; so they were spared, and sparing their lives saved 

 further trouble on that occasion. But rest was not yet. Ngati Macro, 

 Ngati Tauira, and Rangi-tane combined to attack Ngati Apa, so they came 

 to Te Puru, near Kaka-riki, on the Rangi-tikei River, where they met their 

 foe ; but they also met defeat and disaster, for at that siege two of their 

 leaders — namely, Umupo and Rongo-mai-tai — -were killed ; but Kakapa, of 

 Tauira, and Ropiha Piriha, who were both captiu'ed, were spared. The 

 leaders of the victorious Ngati Apa were Hura and Rihi-mona, who had 

 come up from Horo-whenua on a visit, but who afterwards returned to their 

 people the Mua-upoko. 



It was about this time that Te Rau-paraha settled for the second time 

 on Kapiti (Te Rau-paraha actually settled on Kapiti in 1824, but he came 

 ■down the second time from Kawhia in 1821), and when he was established 

 there he fought against Rangi-tane and afterwards against Ngati Apa. 

 Then others of the Taranaki, Ngati Awa, and Ngati Toa tribes shifted down 

 to Kapiti, so as to get out of the road of the Wai-kato and Ngati Mania-poto 

 tauas. Some of these hehes went by the sea-shore, others travelled inland 

 searching for food, so all the hapus along the coast stayed in their various 

 places, but for a short time ejideavouring to evade these migrating parties. 



Rangi-tane and Ngati Kahu-ngunu now sought revenge for the death 

 of Rongo-mai-tai ; so, when Te Hakeke found that they were on the way 

 to Turakina, he decided to gather all the available Ngati Apa together and 

 meet the enemy there. With this pixrpose in view he hurried to Turakina ; 

 but before he reached that place he fell in with a taua from \Mianga-nui, 

 who were travelling by canoe to Kapiti, but who had landed on account of 

 bad weather. They caught him, and carried him on to one of their canoes, 

 where they held him down, endeavouring to kill him by cutting his throat 

 with a shark's-tooth knife ; but he strove with his great strength, made a 

 gigantic effort, and threw them aside as little children, and so broke clean 

 away from them ; and then, when at some little distance, he called back to 

 his pursuers, " I am Hakeke, the great Hakeke. You cannot capture me." 

 They could not, although they tried ; and Te Hakeke ran back to Rangi-tikei. 



The Rangi-tane party went on to Turakina without knowing anything 

 of this, and, as the Ngati Apa there had not received Te Hakeke's warning, 

 they w^e quite unprepared. When the taua consisting of the Ngati Kahu- 

 ngunu, Rangi-tane, and Mua-upoko hapus, under the chiefs Te Wheta, 

 Te Aweawe, and Hori Kangi, in all 340 persons, were travelling down the 

 coast to the attack, they were discovered by Te Wai-tene, who immediately 

 warned his people. Only a small party of defenders could be raised at a 

 moment's notice, biit these few were angry and desperate men, and so, 

 nothing daunted, Te Wai-tene the brave and his six companions of the 

 Nga Riki attacked that great combined army ; but, although brave and 

 strong, these seven were but as a few grains of sand before the whirlwind, 

 and soon Wai-tene and his brother Te Hokinga were speeding to meet their 

 ancestors on the dim shores of the spirit-land. But Hori-te-mohi and his 

 elder brother escaped — all the armies of the world were not strong enough 

 to take them.* This affair is known to the Maori as the Turaki-awatea 



* The spear with which Wai-tene was killed is now in the hands of Wirihana Hunia, 

 of Otaki. 



