464 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XVII. 
distinct articulation. The most perfect silence pre- 
vailed among the hundreds assembled. Children who 
had been playing on the edge of the crowd ; young 
men and women who had been renewing old acquaint- 
ances and exchanging the latest gossip ; warriors who 
had been examining each other s arms en connoiaseur 
while the great number of chiefs spoke ; all were 
now hushed and still. Stragglers might be seen 
pressing close to the scene of conference ; whispers 
might be heard that " the kau matua, or ' patriarch,* 
" was going to speak ;" and then the whole audience 
held its breath. This was evidently the great speech, 
— the lion of the day. 
Like the others, he began by hailing his relations ; 
and then proceeded with an oration full of majesty, 
terseness, and emphasis. His words must have been 
heard across the river by the men of Putikiwaranui, E 
Kuru, and others who had not crossed over. " You 
" have all been speaking crooked," said he, " and 
" hiding your words in lies. Listen to me ! I am 
" going to speak straight. I go to JJ^aitotara, to 
*' avenge the death of my people, and to bring their 
" bones home. I have not come to beg canoes, or 
** food, or assistance. If you lend me no canoes, I 
" can walk along the banks with my children ; and 
" we will cross at a ford when a cliflF is in our path : 
" we shall find our way to the sea. I can help myself 
" to food ; my children see the plantations, and they 
" gather with a gun in one hand and a basket hi the 
" other. I want no help but that of my own meri 
" ponamu, which my arm knows how to shake." And 
he lifted it high over his head and brandished it 
haughtily before them. 
" As to the missionary words," he continued, " who 
*' cares for them ? What is the anger of Ihu Karaite 
