CHAP. VIII.] WAR CANOES. 127 



inclined to peace, they deliberate about the condi- 

 tions, and a feast concludes the whole. 



On returning home they sometimes kill more of 

 the captives. E'Ongi's principal wife, who was 

 blind, often indulged the natural cruelty of her 

 disposition in this manner. But her barbarity at 

 length met its just punishment : in one of the last 

 excursions of E'Ongi to Wangaroa she was left 

 behind on account of sickness, and, being unable 

 to defend herself, the dogs actually devoured her 

 alive. 



A remarkable custom exists among the natives, 

 called the taua tapu (sacred fight), or taua toto 

 (fight for blood), which is in the true spirit of the 

 ancient law of the Asiatics " blood for blood." If 

 blood has been shed, a party sally forth and kill the 

 first person they fall in with, whether an enemy or 

 belonging to their own tribe ; even a brother is sacri- 

 ficed. If they do not fall in with anybody, the 

 tohunga pulls up some grass, throws it into a river, 

 and repeats some incantation. After this ceremony, 

 the killing of a bird, or any living thing that comes 

 in their way, is regarded as sufficient, provided that 

 blood is actually shed. All who participate in such 

 an excursion are " tapu," and are not allowed either 

 to smoke or to eat anything but indigenous food. 



In former times large fleets of canoes often went 

 to distant parts of the island, and, as the country is 

 everywhere intersected by rivers, and contains many 

 lakes, the canoes were dragged from one to the 



