﻿CoLENSO. 
  — 
  Tgnoranre 
  of 
  Ancient 
  New 
  Zealander 
  of 
  Use 
  of 
  Projectiles. 
  113 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Phillips 
  also 
  gives 
  an 
  account 
  of 
  a 
  "pigeon 
  spear," 
  made 
  out 
  of 
  

   a 
  rough 
  unworked 
  piece 
  of 
  a 
  ^'raataa 
  vine."(!) 
  Just 
  so 
  ; 
  that 
  is 
  the 
  poor 
  

   modern 
  spear, 
  hastily 
  put 
  together 
  by 
  the 
  lazy, 
  loquacious, 
  itinerating 
  Maori 
  

   of 
  modern 
  days 
  ! 
  but 
  such 
  make-shifts 
  were 
  not 
  (commonly) 
  used 
  by 
  his 
  

   forefathers, 
  although 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  them"^' 
  stored 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  mountain 
  forests 
  ; 
  

   they 
  were 
  far 
  above 
  it.f 
  And 
  then 
  follows 
  the 
  novel 
  idea 
  of 
  " 
  trapping 
  the 
  

   brown 
  parrot 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  a 
  shorter 
  hand-spear. 
  "(!) 
  As 
  if 
  parrots 
  were 
  

   ever 
  caught 
  in 
  that 
  way 
  ! 
  The 
  Maoris 
  had 
  but 
  one 
  general 
  mode 
  of 
  taking 
  

   the 
  parrot 
  (kaaJcaa), 
  which 
  was 
  admirably 
  adapted 
  and 
  serviceable, 
  and 
  is 
  

   still 
  in 
  use 
  in 
  the 
  dense 
  forests 
  of 
  the 
  interior. 
  

  

  My 
  Note, 
  referred 
  to 
  at 
  p. 
  106, 
  is 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  — 
  " 
  Note 
  7, 
  par. 
  15, 
  § 
  2. 
  

   — 
  Travelling 
  beyond 
  the 
  East 
  Cape 
  in 
  January, 
  1838, 
  I 
  arrived 
  at 
  Waipiro 
  

   (Open 
  Bay), 
  and 
  striking 
  inland 
  over 
  high 
  hills 
  reached 
  a 
  place 
  called 
  Tapa- 
  

   tahi, 
  where 
  were 
  the 
  remains 
  of 
  a 
  famous 
  stronghold 
  or 
  ^ja 
  of 
  the 
  olden 
  time. 
  

   This 
  fort 
  is 
  strongly 
  situated 
  on 
  the 
  abrupt 
  precipitous 
  end 
  of 
  a 
  high 
  hilly 
  

   yet 
  narrow 
  range, 
  and 
  made 
  impregnable 
  by 
  art 
  ; 
  the 
  only 
  possible 
  way 
  of 
  

   access 
  leading 
  from 
  the 
  top 
  of 
  the 
  ridge, 
  but 
  this 
  the 
  Maoris 
  had 
  completely 
  

   secured 
  by 
  cutting 
  a 
  deep 
  fosse 
  across 
  it. 
  The 
  Ngatimaru 
  tribe, 
  arriving 
  in 
  

   their 
  canoes 
  from 
  the 
  North, 
  well 
  armed 
  with 
  muskets 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  

   slaughter, 
  the 
  people 
  of 
  this 
  neighbourhood 
  took 
  refuge 
  in 
  their 
  stronghold 
  

   on 
  the 
  crag, 
  where 
  they 
  were 
  regularly 
  besieged. 
  Several 
  hundreds 
  of 
  

   Maoris 
  were 
  cooped 
  up 
  in 
  it, 
  and 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  the 
  place 
  was 
  closely 
  

   invested 
  ; 
  and 
  though 
  provisions 
  fell 
  short 
  among 
  them 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  outlet 
  

   of 
  escape. 
  The 
  besiegers 
  getting 
  both 
  tired 
  and 
  hungry 
  (!) 
  — 
  for 
  the 
  entrance 
  

   end 
  of 
  the 
  fort 
  was 
  made 
  so 
  high 
  above 
  the 
  deep-cut 
  fosse 
  that 
  musketry 
  

   could 
  effect 
  nothing, 
  unless 
  any 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  besieged 
  v/ilfully 
  exposed 
  him- 
  

   self 
  — 
  at 
  last 
  the 
  besiegers 
  hit 
  upon 
  a 
  mode 
  of 
  attack 
  and 
  assault 
  which 
  

   proved 
  successful 
  ; 
  they 
  prepared 
  sticks 
  with 
  dry 
  combustibles 
  fastened 
  to 
  

   one 
  of 
  their 
  ends, 
  while 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  was 
  tied 
  a 
  strip 
  of 
  flax-leaf, 
  and 
  the 
  

   wind 
  being 
  favourable, 
  they 
  set 
  fire 
  to 
  them, 
  and 
  then 
  whirled 
  and 
  flung 
  

   those 
  flaming 
  darts 
  across 
  the 
  ditch 
  into 
  the 
  im, 
  where, 
  alighting 
  on 
  the 
  dry 
  

   thatch 
  roofs 
  of 
  the 
  houses 
  and 
  sheds, 
  the 
  whole 
  was 
  soon 
  on 
  fire 
  ; 
  then, 
  in 
  

   the 
  confusion, 
  the 
  assault 
  was 
  made, 
  under 
  cover 
  of 
  their 
  muskets, 
  and 
  the 
  

   slaughter 
  was 
  very 
  great, 
  even 
  for 
  a 
  successful 
  Maori 
  attack 
  1 
  Many 
  of 
  the 
  

   unfortunate 
  besieged 
  threw 
  themselves 
  down 
  the 
  precipice 
  in 
  sheer 
  despera= 
  

   tion, 
  and 
  only 
  a 
  very 
  small 
  number 
  escaped 
  with 
  their 
  lives. 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  

   small 
  moat 
  or 
  pool 
  of 
  deep 
  water 
  close 
  to 
  the 
  base 
  of 
  the 
  precipice 
  on 
  one 
  

  

  * 
  That 
  is, 
  a 
  spear-head, 
  fitted 
  on 
  to 
  the 
  rough 
  stem 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  creeper 
  (vine) 
  : 
  but 
  

   jiever 
  on 
  a 
  raataa 
  ( 
  Metrosideros 
  robusta). 
  

  

  t 
  If 
  I 
  mistake 
  not 
  there 
  will 
  be 
  a 
  full 
  description 
  of 
  a 
  " 
  pigeon 
  spear," 
  and 
  how 
  it 
  was 
  

   made, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  wondrous 
  works 
  of 
  old 
  I 
  in 
  those 
  Notes 
  of 
  mine^ 
  

  

  