ABORIGINALITIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume I, Issue 41, 2 August 1907, Page 2

ABORIGINALITIES.

TO TIJK EDITOR. Sir, —You will be astonished to pet a fish story i'rom Manga tiki. When going along the Caves road to-day, about ten chains from the railway station, I noticed three equestrians sitting on their horses and locking • intently at an object on the ground. They drew my attention ton rainbow trout, about 10 inches long, and assured me it had just been dropped by a hawk. This is such a remarkable incident that it seems worth recording. As a proof thai there are fish in our rivers : .About a year ago, a young man was walking along the bank of the Mangapu river, when he saw a rope leading' down into the water, and being of an enquiring turn of mind, he hauled on the rope and pulled up a I\laori "hinake," inside of which there was a big rainbowtrout. Having very taking ways, this young man annexed the trout. Of course he knew the trout had no legal right to be in a " hinake." It weighed eight pounds. I went and bought a " hinake," and can catch plenty -of eels, but no trout. We were talking about eels the other night, ai?d an Aucklander remarked that when he used to fish for mullet at Orakei, he often found the eel skins hanging in the net after the eels wriggled through. I remarked that they were easier skinned than the Mangapu eels. When Auckland replied : " Hut they were Conger eels." Put that in your pipe and smoke it Mr Editor. I am, etc., SILENCE. Hangatiki, 14///07. TO THE KOITOK. Sir,--I wonder very much that Europeans take the trouble to write Tk before the Maoris names of places. It is no more required, as far as they are concerned, than a fifth wheel to a coach. Long ago "cabriolet" was shortened into "cab"; Kuiti and Awamutu would answer quite as well as the longer form. Ol course; speaking or writing to Maoris one should use the 'IT. I am, etc., SENEX.