THE MAORI'S LEAP.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 217, 16 December 1909, Page 2

THE MAORI'S LEAP.

The •'Southland News" publishes an interesting story which the late Mr John ,-r : obtained from an old Native concerning a great rocky cSifT. k-siiy known as "Ire Maori's Leap," thai rises from ths water's edge ?ont = two miles cr ho from the mouth of the Taieri River. Five- or sir: generations ago. it seems, a tribe of Natives i: **c:! cr the barks cr the Taieri, arc a smaller tribe :r. the neighbourhood occupied a soot nov; tailed Ram Island. A young warrior of the Ram Island tribe deli in love with a daughter of the River Neurit trice and dually Induced her to fly *-v:th him to his peor,ic. she v.-as discovered hj: 1 e tryirg to : o.l:. her way from her own trioe, and being hotly pursued attempted to leap from the id.' to her lover, who vas waking for her vdth his cance in the river bekw. ihe miscalculated her strength, and, falling among the , rccbs ".va= hilled, ihe young man carried the mangle:! body to his cance arc manage! to rta.ee his escape but the Taieri Mouth tribe took a sanguin"ovnr.cr'2 y s.£ y;" < Gvsry rr. 0 **." 1? ~r of the Ram [slat: trice vdth the exaccourt of their blood corner.'" with :he chief of tne stronger b". 1 t-.vo lao su.seouent.y fleo t a grea: reputation as a warrkr ert vas abbe to induce three bunt • - ricked men to join him i:t an eu/tktior to avenge the massacre of his early friends. When he reached his oid home he found that the tribe he vas seeking had treved front its fcrmer large pa close to the point whore the East Taieri bridge- row crosses the river. He save at once that there no chareo of attacking this peskier v,d:h success so ho planned to gain his end- by subtlety. Ik" three yea's re a: riled Itimskf t: collecting large stores of food and cultivating friendly relations with the _akri Neuth trice, itk neighbours to come an:, carry away the food. which he said he intended to abandon, en account of his impending return to the Ncrth Island. They readily fell into the trap, and as the fighting men entered the enclosure where the food was stored trey were knocked en k:e head one by one until the whole force was dispatched. The avengers made their way to the tta where the women and children and eld men had bec-tt kit. and completed their bloody work. The only warrior v..; eluded the f.rst onslaught was purs. . to "The Maori's Leap," where he • ■ - struck by a spear just as he was - r.tparirg to spring, and fell cn to '...: rocks below thus malting the z:,: r retribution of his people comp' . The Natives now residing at the Tatert are the descendants of the tn.vaders - who took this terrtcie revenge. ;i