AN INTERLUDE IN WAR

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2831, 24 July 1916, Page 6

AN INTERLUDE IN WAR

THE VICTORIOUS MAORI A SCENE IN A FOREST (By Alalcolm Koss, N.Z. Official War Correspondent.) Northern Franco, May 21. In tho mythology of the Maon there are chronicled many strange iucidcnts— tho romantic happenings of love and peace and war. handed down from tho mists of antiquity by means of the wonderful memories oi tho 'i'ohuugas or high priests—tor the Maori had no written language—these adventures of their forefathers still live, and Loth tho actualities and tho myths of byegone generations have still an influence upon Maori character. Jc would require no great stretch of tho llaori imagination to ieel that the spirit of Heke, the old warnor who defied, the British, and time after time cut down the pule from which fluttered tho iinglisu flax in Northern New Zealand had winged its way from tho legendary the spirits oi tho departed ans>borne—and v,as hovering over this forest in Northern France where worthy descendants of the tribes had come to engage in a friendly contest with men from those two great overseas Dominions—Canada and Australia. ' Heke was or our time, yet he remembered tile day when the iiaori felled bis tree by iiro and fashioned his long canoe with the implements of the stone age. And how what a change! The Mauri whose fathers ouly a few generations ago used the stone adze, and whose ancestors could, not be covquered by British soldiers, is hero helping his former foes in the greatest war of all the ages, and in tho interlude, meeting them and beating them in the forest at their own fame. As young liawiri aiul his men—stripped to the singlet, 'their great brown biceps showing, and pleasant umilcs revealing fine teeth —stood axe in hand, each beside his tree awaiting the signal to begin, one could not but remember the splendid spirit of their noble ancestors.

' The Spacious Glades. The scene w<t S one in which the dd warriors would have delighted tho spaciousness of the forest, the sougs of birds, tho scent of wild flowers, and, betuf still, the scenfc of baOtlo in the air—lor ivera wo not within sound of the cannon, and even as we marchcd down the woodland path tho spiteful tat-tat-tat-ting of a machine-gun ranging, assailed the ear. And there were many soldiers from generals to non.-coms., and "Tommies"—all eager and interested in the coming contest. Thero was also an Aus--traiian band that played good music, though as someone remarked they were' no bandsmen but!miners. There wero English, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh. French Canadians talked to each other In French, and in the middle of a conversation would switch off into English. A French "buohtfron" seated besido a famous English war correspondent on a 'fallen tree was saying to him—no doubt with memories of his own : recent defeat by the Maoris in theso same woods— "Ah! theso colonials they are not good axemen; they waste too much timber." A Canadian with a Yankee drawl and some swagger was asking for "real trees." Theso trees, he said, wore only saplings! That was before the contest, and he had perhaps never heard of tho giant kauri in the forts of Northern New Zealand. Could ho but see those forests ho would no doubt have to admit that a kauri is

"some tree." Later a critical . Australian watching this samo swaggering axomaii hacking not too skilfully at a hard elm was heard to remark with caustic humour that he could do Letter with a knife and fork!

Beside mo a very young pnglisli officer seemed to be interested in the New Zea< landers. "I hear tl\ere are a lot of awl'ui blackguards amongst them," he saia. I made it, npn-cpmmittal reply. He had evidently mistaken mo for an Englishman. Me wondered if the Maoris talked English. I assured him that they did, belter possibly than, ho or 1, and tbat quite likely thero were among them several with' University degrees. Ho presumed ithey wero good at 'games. I told him they had earned some fame at "ltuggor," that they played cricket fairly well, and that a Maori had carried oft' tho Now, Zealand golf championship. "Are you with tho New ZealantlcTs?" lie asked, looking me up and down. "Yes," I replied, "I am--a Now Zealander." Then tho conversation languished somewhat, and with all due modesty I assumed that my friend was thinking that after all he might havo been misinformed about my countrymen. 'After all, he was a very young officer, and, no doubt, as bravo as his forefathers who ventured forth in the Crusades, or wlio fought 'at Blenheim or Almanza. And one felt certain, th(it lie would be ]ust iut ready to die in a ditch in Flanders, maintaining to the last gasp the honour of tho family name. All the same, one con la not help recalling the lines of our English Poet-seer:—

"What do they know of England Who only England know?" But this war and theso meetings under alien skies are doing, us all good, and are giving us a better understanding of each other, with 'the inevitable result that in .government and commerce, and even' in the arts ol 1 peace and war, the Motherland and her loyal Dominions will be drawn .yet closer together for mutual welfare and protection.

Axes Fly. Meantime 'the aiomon are waiting lieside their trees, a shrill whistlo gives tho signal to commence, and iinmcdi- ] ately the chips begin to fly. Canada has three teams, Australia two, and New Zealand one—tho latter selected from tho fow hundred Maoris who are with the Pioneer Battalion. There are three men in a. team, .and throe trees have to bo felled by each team. Any ono man in tho group may help to fell any of tho llireo trees. Thus, when one man has felled his tree ho rushes to the assistance of one of his comrades, till towards tho finish thero are usually threo men hacking away at the last tree. 'The lots of three trees average,in circumfcrenc® 5 metres 50 centimetres, and tho wood is hard. The Moaris have drawn a set of trees the averago of which is abovo all the others, but tho difference is not great. It is only fair to add that th» Maors, having been at work in the forest for some time, are in slightly better condition that the other axemen. Ono of the Canadian teams chopped first, and it was clear to exprienced buslimen that they "would have no show against tho dusky warriors from the Antipodes. The Australians were an unknown quantity, and their first team shaped well. They beat the Canadians easily. Tho crowd were evidently very interested, in tho Maori axemou. Unperturbed by tho interest thoy were exciting, the three young men remained standing silenllv, axe in hand, each beside his trees, and when the whistle sounded they went-to \vork with fine, swinging blows, each stroke falling within the smallest fraction of an inch of the ono beforo, just as a perfect golfer might swing his club, and, hitting on tho exact spot, send his ball [lying well and truly from the tee. Tho "scarfc" left, as the gap in tho tree widenetl, was almost as if it had'been cut with a saw— with such accuracy did (ho blows from the keen-swinging axes fall. Tho first troe came crashing (o the ground, to an accompaniment of chews in six minutes. It was a tree one metro I'ortyfivo metres in eircumt'crance. The second tree fell in seven minutes. At ilio last tree—the biggest ill any of the groups—the three Maoris were now all plying their axes in greut style, In nine minutes forty seconds it, too, had fallen, the three trees thus having been brought down in twenty-two minutes forty seconds. This was a record that, evidently, 'it would be difficult to excel, and, as a matter of fact, none of the other leaius approached it. Tho results were-.- ■ Min. Sue. New Zealand 22 40 Australia ill 8 Canada 45 22 Following this contest there was a logchopping contest, won by an Australian, with a Maori second. It was almost a dead-heat. In a oross-euit sawing competition a Canadian pair just managed to heat a Maori team by about a second. Tho prize for tho best axemauship was won by a Maori. ■ Thus ended a competition that will perhaps be memorable in tho annals of

warfare. Just about this time, in a. village only a few miles .away, an Australian General was wounded and. an «;s----tr.ili.ni doctor blown to bits by a German high explosive shell. Vet iiere we were, with competitors Irani our widely•seattored Dominions, calmly carrying out in the midst of idyllic surroundings this strange contest. Under the e'rcnmBtances it was an event, such cs perhaps only tlie British could nave ioncoiyed. One of my latest impressions of it was a. glimpse of (he Maoris grouped for a. photograph by the Baronne from a neighbouring chateau. She will 'have o.n interesting picture. Thousands of miles from their ancestral home, hero tliey were, ready and willing, in forest or trend), to striko -a blow for the licncur of their' native land and of Mother England. Yes, of a. surety, the spirit cf Ileke, who time and again cut down (he flagpole, uud of old Rewi, who when asked to surrender said he would figlit on for ever and ever, remains with young Rawini and his men as, smiling, sweating, and victorious, they lean upon their axes beside the fallen elm—a pigmy compared with their own giant kauri—in a forest in Northern Franco.