CoLenso.—0On a better Knowledge of the Maori Race. 89 
Then they told off a certain number to go to the entrance of the cave 
where the monster dwelt, while others were well armed with hard-wood 
digging spades* and clubs, with long spears, and rib-bones of whales, and 
with short wooden cleavers or halberts. Last of all, they carefully placed 
and laid their ropes and nooses, so that the monster should be completely 
taken and snared in them ; and then, when all was ready, the men who had 
been appointed to go up to the mouth of the cave to entice and provoke the 
creature to come forth, went forwards ; but, lo! before they had got near to 
the cave, the monster had already smelt the odour of men. ; 
Then it arose within its cave. And the men who had gone forth to 
provoke it heard the rumbling of its awful tread within the cave, resembling 
the grating noise of thunder. Notwithstanding, they courageously enticed 
it forwards by exposing themselves to danger and running towards it, that 
it might come well away from its cave ; and when the monster saw the food 
for its maw by which it lived, it came forth from its den ramping with joy. 
Now this monster had come fearlessly on with open mouth, and with its 
tongue darting forth after those men ; but in the meanwhile they had them- 
selves entered into the snares of ropes, and had passed on and through 
them, and were now got beyond the set snares—the ropes, and nooses, and 
snares, all lying in their proper positions on the level ground. 
At this time those men were all standing around below when the huge 
head of the beast appeared on the top of the little hill, and the other men 
were also ascending that hill and closing in gradually all around ; the 
monster lowered his head awhile and then came on, and then the men, the 
little party of provokers, moved further away on to the top of another 
hillock, and the monster following them entered the snares! At this the 
men on that little hill stood still, then the monster moved on further and 
further towards them, climbing up that ascent also, so that when its head 
appeared on the top of that second hillock its fore legs were also within the 
set loops of the big snare. 
Then it was that the simultaneous cry arose from the party who were 
standing on the top of the little hill watching intently, “Good! capital! 
it has entered! it is enclosed! pull! haul away!” And that other party, 
who were all holding on to the several ropes, anxiously waiting for the 
word of command, hearing this, pulled away heartily. And, lo! it came to 
pass exactly as they all had planned and wished for—the monster was 
caught fast in the very middle of its belly. 
* This implement (called a ko) might be just as well termed a lance, or pick; it was 
narrow, pointed, and 6-7 feet long, and used for digging fern-root, &e., and ag 
here, as an offensive weapon, 
