Brack.— Traditional History of the South Island Maoris. « 91 
being lost in the maze or falling into an ambuseade; they, therefore, 
returned to the boat, carrying with them the articles they found in the 
cave. These were exhibited at Otakou, the Peninsula, and Kaiapoi. The 
mat was sent to Otaki, and the patu paraoa was eventually given to me by 
Te muru, an old chief at Port Levy. 
Aperahama Hutoitoi of Nga whakaputaputa affirms that four years 
ago, when sealing in the sounds, he saw smoke in the distance, and visiting 
the spot the next day observed the footprints of several persons on the 
sands, evidently Maoris from the shape of the feet. 
Having suffered so cruelly from Ngai Tahu, the survivors of the 
persecuted tribe seem to be always in a state of flight, imagining that their 
ancient foes are still in pursuit. Though the country has of late years been 
well explored by “ prospecting " parties without any people being found, it 
is just possible that a small remnant may still remain secreted in the 
recesses of that inaecessible region. 
Internal Dissensions. 
No sooner were they freed from anxiety about the common foe than old 
feuds revived, and fresh quarrels broke out between the different hapus and 
sections of hapus of the Ngai Tahu, till the whole country presented such a 
scene of anarchy and strife, that it is hardly possible to give a connected 
account of the innumerable petty contests which took place at this period. 
One event which occurred on the peninsula, and which is almost comic 
in its ghastliness, will serve as a specimen of the warfare in those times, 
Ngatiwairua and Ngai Tuwhaitara being involved in a quarrel, Te Wera took 
up the cause of the former, and in the fight at Tara ka hina a tea killed Kiri 
mahinahina. This man was a tohunga who taught history incorrectly. It 
was he who told. the younger Turakautahi that Tiki made man, whilst the 
fathers had always said that it was To. Te Wera adopted a novel method 
of preventing histeaching surviving him or his spirit escaping and perverting 
the mind of any other tohunga. Having made an oven capable of contain- 
ing the entire body, he carefully plugged the mouth, nose, ears, and rectum, 
and then cooked and ate the heretical teacher. 
The history of Ngai Tahu from this period till the taking of Kaiapoi by 
Te Rauparaha in 1827, is but a repetition on a smaller scale amongst 
themselves of the scenes enacted during their struggle with Ngatimamoe, 
and may very well be omitted from this paper, which does not profess to be 
anything more than a brief sketch. It may prevent misapprehension if I 
here state that in tracing the history of Ngai Tahu, I have purposely avoided 
alluding to the exploits of particular hapus,—a favourite practice of the Maori 
annalist, but fraught with confusion to the European reader, who would 
be sorely puzzled amongst the multiplicity of so-called tribes, to know which 
