AN OLD TIME TRAGEDY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2258, 19 October 1889, Page 2

AN OLD TIME TRAGEDY.

(" RiDgltiUel Advocate,") Dropping ioto the Native Land Chart •t Taraklna a f*w d»yo ago, we wore fortunate onoogh to hear, Instead of dry details about boundaries, the star? of a Maori tragedy of the olden lime. The bl< o< of land being dealt with was tha Mtang*tlpon* East, a anbdivißion of tbe g eit Maori reserve but ween the Taraklna and the Wangaehu r.vers. On the resumption of busioos« after the dinner adjjurnmtmt, a Native, who was a witness la ihe case, stood up, aad to the qaeatioa from the judge, •Do yoa know this block" h« replied that he did, and indioatlrg wl'h his finger a point on tbe plao, he said : Here was Arjtnangß, aud the ruins of tbe wham may be iejn to this day ; and here (indicating ano her p!«oo) Harangi's grand daughter, Tukiiron^orape, w»s killed. Harsngl and bis grand daughter had slept nut of the Dbh, having been down ibe rivet fishing, and as they were returning they were astonished to find that the pah was Invested by a war patty, whose chief was Tamakoptrl, and they returned. Ao tiny were turning back they were perceived by the enemy, and then Tamakoplri started m pursuit of them atom. Ttien some of the war party raid, ' Let pora9 people go m support oi him ;' but oihers said, 'Let him go by himse f ; he is a Marupaangaroa,' which was hla name, because of his grfat powers m war. The people m ihj pah were oomple ely surrounded } there wan no esoape for them. As soon as Harangi heard wb»t was said, he knew that it w<*B a chief who waa m pursuit of him. Then be bid hia granddaughter m a flax bush aoroßs thsoraek, and took his own gaim<mt j off and covered her with I*, thinking if Tamakoplrl saw a chief's varment on bar he would spire his granddaughter's life. He tben crossed ibo atretin, and went 'q a, ridjte where there w*» a fcawhltl kaahu (hawk snare), And fr^m tbore he looked down to where bit grandchild waa. Wben Famakopiri o»me up to whore tbo girl was. he speared her aod killed her, and that was her death. Then wh mj Hiraagl s»w that bis grandchild wsi slain, he took the snaring stick as a woapon, and wot aud foaght with Tamakoplrl, and killed him with that snaring s iok, Ani tbe name of that place was called from that circumstance, Pukathn to this day. And Harangi loalped T^makoplrj, and bung the soaip to |»l* bolt* ' Thea he went along ha ridge to aae whether the people In tho pah were all deitroyed or not, »Vhen he not thete be found the people were still »11 right— they were still surrounded, Then he sang a song to the people m the pah about the deVh of his grandohlld. When tbe war party heard that they looked up and saw the soaip hanging to bis girdle, and they began to Rrjw weak, iind thought of raoning away, but Harangi shouted out, ' Do not go ; go Into tbe pa*i And dig fern root. 1 Hurangi's party made an attaok upon them and killed them Some of ihe war parly escaped, but no one of any note was killed except Tamak.i plrl." While the story w«s balng fold these was a little Miori girl of about foue or 6ve years of age ranging abcut the hall, making a great noise with her hob-nalied bocta. And two of her eldorp, a man and a woman, made suoh ferocious gesturaa to her to endeavour to keep her quiot that it seemed likely that if they oonld gat neai enough to ho:, the fate of poor little Tuk*!'roDgernpe would be visited upon her 1 there aud then. * Notlolng tholi blood-oardllpg domonstratforip, however, ohe advaijpfld to within spitting dtatanoa, and tried to loieot jtfoji^a saliva Into the paternal eye ; a d theu mother and fathaj ■mlltd proudly on her. and Ibtro wm