Chap. XV. E AHU'S SONG. 377 
them on their thighs, with staring eyes and excited 
features. As they both spoke together, it became 
difficult to hear what they said, but I caught a sen- 
tence here and there which gave me the sense of their 
argument. " No !" cried Rauperaha ; " no cows ; I 
will not have them." " Let them go !" yelled ^^^w / 
" Yield me my cows and my White man ; the cows 
" will not kill you." " No cows, no White men ! I 
" am the king ! Never mind your war-parties ! No 
" cows !" answered Rauperaha. The cows cannot take 
*' you," persisted E Ahu ; when the soldiers come we 
" will fight for you, but let my cows go !" " No ! no ! 
no indeed !" firmly replied the chief, and he sat 
down. 
E Ahu remained standing. He took breath for a 
minute ; then he drew himself up to his full height, 
and addressed his own people in a solemn kind of reci- 
tative. " Ngafiraukaiva," he sang, " Arise ! arise, my 
*' sons and my daughters, my elder brothers and my 
'* younger brothers, my sisters, my grandchildren, arise ! 
" Stand up, the families of the Ngatiraukawa ! To 
" Taupo I To Taupo ! To Maunga Tautari ! To our 
" old homes which we had burned and deserted ; arise 
" and let us go ! Carry the little children on your 
" backs as I carried you when I came to fight for this 
*' old man, who has called us to fight for him and given 
" us land to sit on, but grudges us White people to be 
'* our friends and to give us trade. We have no 
" White people or ships at Maunga Tautari, but the 
" land is our own there. We need not beg to have a 
" White man or cows yielded to us, if they should 
" want to come. To Maunga Tautari I Arise my 
" sons, make up your packs, take your guns and your 
" blankets, and let us go ! It is enough ! I have 
" spoken !" As he sat down, a mournful silence pre- 
