TAREHA. 
317 
raged more vehemently, shaking his hand as an intimation 
that it was not enough. Mr. Kemp then added a shirt as a 
companion to the tobacco; this also was insufficient, his hand 
still shaking for more. At last, he gave a blanket; immedi¬ 
ately he felt this in his hand, his wrath subsided, his tone 
changed, and he not only granted his pardon, but bestowed 
the youth on him. On one occasion, when some of our 
Missionaries were going up the Kerikeri river, they were 
struck with sounds of lamentation. On landing, they found 
that Tareha had got a fish-bone in his throat, and was 
choking: being tapu, no one dared come near or touch his 
sacred head. But one of the Missionaries immediately 
approached, and fortunately having a pair of scissors with 
him, after some difficulty, he managed to extract the bone. 
In about half-an-hour, the Chief had so far recovered as to be 
able to speak; and to the amazement of the kind operator, 
who had thus, in all probability, saved his life, the first words 
were a command to his followers to seize the scissors as a 
payment for having touched his sacred throat. The Missionary, 
however, managed to retain possession of them, although they 
had thus been forfeited by the law of tapu. 
On another occasion, a boat’s crew went up what is called 
Tareha’s River, to cut wood, leaving one man to take care of 
the boat, and get some food cooked for the party on their 
return. The man commenced with gathering two baskets full 
of oysters. He had no sooner done so, than up came Tareha, 
who in his fierce gruff voice, demanded his business there, at 
least so the man supposed, being totally ignorant of the 
language; but knowing what a dreadful cannibal he was, and 
how completely he was in his power, he told me he trembled 
in every joint, thinking his last moments had arrived. Tareha 
repeated his savage growl in a louder tone ; the man thinking 
perhaps that it was the cry of hunger, thrust before him one 
of the oysters he had just opened. Tareha swallowed it, and 
gave another growl; the poor fellow hastily opened another, 
which was immediately swallowed, and succeeded by a growl; 
and thus he kept opening oysters, which the other as quickly 
devoured, until the whole stock was almost consumed, when 
