Incidents in the Life of Te Kooti.

Cromwell Argus, Volume 2, Issue 79, 16 May 1871, Page 6

Incidents in the Life of Te Kooti.

I In early days, when the runanga was the ruling power among the native tribes, Te Kooti often laid himself open to punishment by the infringement of its laws. At one time he got into serious trouble by illegally tattooing a native woman—an operation which was held to be tapu, and could only be lawfully done by the general consent of the tribe to which she belonged. A fine of £4OO was inflicted upon him for this offence. He objected to pay it, and retired to the bush, where he erected a pa. To this pa there flocked many other men of about his own age—men who, like himself, had placed themselves beyond the pale of the law by the commision of various crimes, such as theft and adultery ; besides others who, though not criminals, were dissolute and habitual drunkards. Two hundred men were sent out by the runanga, to enforce its decrees against the outlaws, but they were successfully resisted. A compromise was, however, after a time effected. Many stories are told of his thefts and gallantries, which, if true, put in a strong light both the daring ingenuity and the unscrupulous depravity of his character. He is said, on one occasion, to have carried away another man's wife, by putting her into a sack and tying her, like a bale of goods, across his saddle-bow, presumably by her own consent. Love must be a passion amongst the Maoris. Women in Europe will make great sacrifices for its sake, but we doubt whether any of them would allow herself to be put into a sack and tied across her lover's saddlebow. Kooti's guilty career on another occasion, was on the point of being prematurely cut short, through one of his escapades in this line. He had seduced a native wife of a European ; the latter, on discovering the fact, pursued him and fired upon him, bqt unfortunately missed his mark. It is said that the injured husband felt so keenly the guilt of his wife, that, shortly afterwards, he took to drink, and died within a few months. So much for his gallantries. With regard to his thefts, a story is told of the ingenious manner in which he robbed a storekeeper of all his wines and spirits. Having discovered previously in what part of the store the casks were placed, he got under the house, and tapped them by boring a hole up through the floor into them. By this, means he drained off the contents into casks of his own, which he had brought with him, and had the satisfaction of keeping himself and his associates drunk for a week on the proceeds of his theft. This circumstance, however, led to the detection of the thief, and his subsequent punishment. The occasions on which he was fined for breaking the laws of the runanga were very numerous, but it was noticed as a remarkable fact that before the fine fell due, a number of horses and cattle belonging to his neighbours, and corresponding in value to the amount of the penalty, were certain to be missing.