^ ADVENTUHE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XHI. 
Mr. Meurant, who had been 20 years in different parts 
of the island, both north and south, being interpreter. 
KTako^ E Puni, and Taringa Kuri, were among the 
crowd of natives assembled. Of these E Tako was the 
only one that spoke ; but he was supported by several 
of the unknown Moseses and Abrahams of Te Aro in 
showing that the refractory natives were not disposed 
to take any but a very exorbitant payment. They 
assumed all the consequence of head chiefs to them- 
selves, while E Puni and Taringa Kuri sat still and 
silent on the edge of the crowd. A mad but harmless 
native, named E Huka, had got excited by the talking, 
and indulged in a bitter satire on the mock solemnity 
of the whole proceeding. He had on an old beaver 
hat, with a piece of tin tied to the front of it, several 
ragged coats and shirts hung in various shapes over 
his blanket, a shoe on one foot and a stocking on 
the other, and was bedecked from head to foot with 
ribands, scraps of paper, and old rags. With a spear in 
his hand, he ran up and down within ten yards of the 
table, drowning the consequential assertions of E Tako 
and his friends by loud shouts that " all the land be- 
" longed to E Huka, that there was no one like 
" E Huka, that E Huka was the Queen. Never mind 
" Spain, never mind Wide-awake, all-the-go E Huka I 
" Never mind E Puni, never mind E Tako, listen to E 
" Huka /" And then he would stop to smile and have a 
quiet joke with some friend among the surrounding 
White people, or to grin foolishly at Mr. Spain ; but 
directly the speeches got at all loud or egotistical, he was 
off again louder than they could speak. No persuasion, 
no frowns, no harsh words, no kind entreaties, could pre- 
vail upon him to be silent ; he took it all for encourage- 
ment and admiration. The meeting ended in nothing. 
In this month, Mr. Brees, the Company's Chief 
