Stack. — Traditional History of the South Island Maoris. 91 



being lost in the maze or falling into an ambuscade ; tliey, therefore, 

 returned to the boat, carrying with them the articles they found in the 

 cave. These were exliibited 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 " pa.i-ties without any people being found, it 

 is just ]DOssible that a small remnant may still remain secreted in the 

 recesses of that inaccessible region. 



Internal Dissensions. 



No sooner were they freed fi'om 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 hiua 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 his teaching surviving him or his spirit escaping and perverting 

 the mind of any other tohunga. Having made an oven capable of contain- 

 ing the entke 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 Eauparaha 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 

 aUuding to the exploits of j)articular hapus, — a favourite practice of the Maori 

 annalist, but fraught with confusion to the Eurox^ean reader, who would 

 be sorely puzzled amongst the multiplicity of so-called tribes, to know which 



