56 Transactions. 



Ngatitama. Shortly after this, Te Rauparaha determined to return to Te 

 Puohu's pa, in order to bring up the women who had been left behind, and 

 selected twenty of his warriors to accompany him. His tribe were unwilling 

 that he should undertake this expedition with so small a number of men, 

 urging him to go in force in order to prevent the risk of any treacherous 

 attack upon his party. Te Eauparaha, however, insisted on limiting his 

 followers to the twenty men he had chosen, and started on his journey. On 

 crossing the Mokau Kiver, he found the body of Rangihaieta's only child, who 

 liad been drowned from Topiora's canoe, as she and part of the tribe cam.e 

 down the coast during the general migration. It was in order to commemorate 

 this circumstance, that the name Mokau, as a nickname, was assumed by Te 

 Kangihaieta. Te Rauparaha wrapped the body of the child in his clothing, 

 and carried it with him to Puohu's pa, where it was interred with due 

 solemnity. On his arrival, he found the women and the people he had left all 

 safe, and at once made arrangements for removing them to Waitara. In the 

 meantime his wife, Akau, had given birth to Tamihana, who is now living at 

 Otaki. On the third day after his arrival the party left the pa, Te Rauparaha 

 carrying his infant child on his back in a basket. Just before reaching Mokau, 

 it being dusk, they were threatened by a considerable war party of Ngatimania- 

 poto, who had crept down the coast after the evacuation of Kawhia and the 

 surrounding district, and Rauparaha had strong reason to fear that he and his 

 people would be attacked and cut off. By a clever stratagem, however, he 

 imposed upon the enemy, for, after clothing twenty of the women in men's 

 mats, and placing feathers in their hair, and arming them with war clubs, he 

 sent them forward under the charge of his wife, Akau, a woman of command- 

 ing stature, and who, on this occasion, wore a red mat named Hukeumu, and 

 brandished her weapon and otherwise acted as if she were a redoubtable 

 warrior, whilst Te Rauparaha himself covered the retreat with the men, the 

 remainder of the party marching between these two bodies. 



The Ng"atimaniapoto, mistaking the strength of Te Rauparaha's force, 

 commenced a retreat, but were attacked by him, and five of their number 

 killed, amongst whom was Tutakara, their leader, who was slain by Rangi- 

 houngariri, a young relative of Te Rauparaha's, already renowned as a 

 warrior. The party then continued their march and reached the Mokau 

 River at dark, but were unable to cross it in consequence of its being swollen 

 by rain and the tide being high. Rauparaha knew that the danger was not 

 over, and that the Ngatimaniapoto would, under cover of night, attempt to 

 take revenge for their loss. He therefore ordered twelve large fires to be 

 made, at some distance from each other, and three of the women of the party, 

 still disguised as men, to be placed at each fire, to which he also assigned one 

 of his warriors, whilst he, with the remainder, acted as scouts. The men near 



