240 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. VIII 
ochre and shark's oil, which covered his very hair and 
clothes. He motioned me to a clean mat spread by his 
side, and spoke a few words of welcome with much 
dignity of manner. He said the land was for me ; 
that his child, E Kuru, had told them all to sell it to 
" Wide-awake," and that, as I was come, it was there 
for me. Like speeches were made to me by Rangi 
Tauwira, or " Sky marked with lightning," a very 
venerable grey-haired chief, l)ent nearly double with 
years, and uncle to E Kuru ; and by Te Ana-ua^ or 
" the Rainy Cave," the head chief of the Ngatiruaka, 
or aboriginal tribes, whose sister was Turoa^s principal 
wife. 
Te Ana-ua handed me a strip of paper from a cloth 
in which it had been carefully wrapped. On perusing 
it, I found it to bear the following written statement : 
* Wanganui, December 17th, 1839. — This is to give 
* notice, that this part of New Zealand has been pur- 
' chased of the native chiefs residing here for the 
* benefit of the Ngatiawa tribes, extending from Ra- 
' ngitikei to Patea, towards Taranaku by Henry Wil- 
' liams." I translated this to the large concourse of 
natives who were assembled on the spot, and asked 
them if it was true. They assured me most fully and 
unanimously, that neither had any such agreement 
been mentioned to them, nor had a single fish-hook or 
piece of tobacco been paid to any one, except to the 
boys who carried Mr. Williams's things, or to those 
natives who became converts to the Christian religion. 
I then asked Te Ana-ua whether he had been aware 
of the contents of the paper. He answered that he 
had not ; but that he thought it was a certificate of 
.good character and hospitality left with him by the 
missionary, in order that future travellers might not 
hesitate to place themselves under his protection. I 
I 
