88 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 
direction of that cave, but were unseen by that monster; while that monster 
was also coming on towards them unseen by the party. Suddenly, however, 
the men looked up, and, lo! the monster was close upon them; on which, 
they immediately retreated in confusion. In appearance, it was like a 
moving hill of earth! Then the fear-awakening cry was heard, ‘ Who is 
straggling behind? Look out, there! A monster, a monster, is coming 
upon you!” Then the whole army fled in all directions in dire dismay and 
confusion at seeing the dreadful spines and spear-like crest of the creature, 
all moving and brandishing in anger, resembling the gathering together of 
the spines, and spears, and spiny crests, and ridges of the dreadful marine 
monsters of the ocean. In the utter rout of the army, they fell foul of 
each other through fear, but, owing to their number, some escaped alive, 
though some were wounded and died. Then, alas! it was surely known 
that it was this evil monster which had completely destroyed all the people 
who had formerly travelled by this way. 
The news of this was soon carried to all parts of the Rotorua district, and 
the brave warriors of the several tribes heard of it. They soon assembled 
together, 170 all told, took up their arms, and marched even until they came 
to Kapenga in the plain, and there they pitched their camp. Immediately 
they set to work, some to pull the leaves of the cabbage-tree (Cordyline 
australis), others to twist them into ropes; then it was that all the various 
arts of rope-making were seen and developed !—the round rope, the flat 
rope, the double-twisted rope, the three-strand rope, and the four-sided 
rope* ; at last the rope-making was ended. 
Then the several chiefs arose to make orations and speeches, encouraging 
each other to be brave, to go carefully to work, to be on the alert, and to be 
circumspect, and so to perform all the duties of the warrior. All this they 
did according to the old and established custom when going to fight the 
enemy. 
One in particular of those chiefs said—Listen to me, let us go gently to 
work; let us not go too near to the monster, but stay at a distance from it, 
and when we perceive the wind blowing towards us over it, then we will get 
up closer, for if the wind should blow from us to the monster, and it smells 
us, it will suddenly rush out of its cave, and our work and schemes will be 
all upset.” To this advice the chiefs all assented, and then the men were 
all properly arranged for each and every side of the big rope snare they had 
contrived and made, so that they might all be ready to pull and haul away 
on the ropes when the proper time should come. 
* This was still the custom in late years; their strongest common ropes were made 
from the leaves of the cabbage-tree, after steeping them in water, and a strong and very 
peculiar kind of 4-sided rope was made by them of it, I have had such made for me, 
but I almost fear the art is lost. Flax (or Phormium) leaves would not be suitable, 
