290 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. IX. 
After the riot had subsided, E Kuru himself came 
on board. He was very excited and angry, but made 
great efforts to conceal the fact. He said that the 
natives were many of them maddened by the struggle, 
though no lives had been lost ; and that, until they 
should calm down, we might be in some danger. He 
therefore advised me to move the ship down opposite 
to the Tfahipan village, where a large body of his 
own men were collected to guard a quantity of the 
goods which he had made tajni^ and secured in his 
house from the general plunder. He said it was true 
that he had saved the principal things of value, but 
that he should divide them fairly the next day. Te 
Ana-ua had been the first to cheer them on to the 
scramble, but E Kuru had not touched him, though 
he got a slight accidental scratch in the melee. I 
shifted the schooner s anchorage, and E Kuru remained 
on board all night to protect us from the chance of 
any assault. He said that when their blood was up, 
he could not answer for what they might do. Several 
other natives described to me his good generalship in 
directing the seizure of most of the goods by means of 
the great numerical strength of his retainers. 
In the morning, things were much more quiet. 
Many of the wildest natives had departed with what 
they had been able to secure ; and E Kuru distributed 
some of the other things. Last of all, he opened the 
only case containing fire-arms. The avidity of the sur- 
rounding chiefs could no longer be restrained ; and in 
the course of a scramble which ensued among the aris- 
tocracy, he had been thrown down and hurt a good deal 
against the nails of the case, and his European clothes, 
which he constantly delighted to wear, were nearly 
torn off his back. He came on board in high dudgeon ; 
and at first threatened to leave his people and his place. 
