JOURNAL

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 610, 7 June 1851, Page 4

JOURNAL

Of an Expedition Overland from Auckland to Taranaki, by way of Rotorua, Taupo, and the West Coast, undertaken, in the Slimmer of 1849-50, by His Excellency the Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand. (Continued from No. COS.) The Killing oe Pekehaua. After the death of Hotupuku, the tribes inhabiting Rotorua heard of what had happened and sent a messenger called Hororita, or some such name, who came to our brave heroes and told them that there was a Taniwha which ate men at the Awa Hou. They found out this Taniwha much in the same way that the one in the plain of Kaingaroa had been discovered. The travelling parties from Waikato and from Patere to Rotorua, as well as those fropn Rotorua to those places, were lo c t, no one knew where. As soon as the three hundred and forty brave fellows heard of this they arose, and at the Awa Hou they had all the particulars explained to ' them. They asked where he (the Taniwha) lived, to which the inhabitants replied “He lives either in the water or on shore —who has seen him to know ?” So they imagined that he must be like the one which they had already killed. Then they fetched some supple-jack from the adjacent forest to make a taiki* which when brought they wove with brambles, using two or three layers of supple-jack. This being done they twisted a rope to bind round the taiki, and another for the Taniwha. And they made all their arrangements, so far as circumstances would allow, the same as on the former occasion, such as waiting for a favourable wind, &c., which done they set out, repeating incantations as they went along, the names of which incantations were, the puni, wero-taniwha, tumangai, and a great number of others.

So they arranged themselves at a distance and gradually drew nearer and nearer to the fountain inhabited by the monster, which is called Te Wharo Uri/ till at length they arrived at the top of the river’s ank. • Then they performed their religious services, and the whole three hundred and forty were gathered in one party. They called for the bravest man in the party, and one of the chiefs, called Pitaka, arose. He and his friends got into the taiki, which was ornamented all over with tufts of pigeon’s feathers, and to which ropes were fastened, and a large stone to make it heavy ; they were all then thrown into the fountain which bubbles up from under ground. Whilst they sunk under water their friends on shore occupied themselves in the duty which had been assigned to them, namely, in repeating great numbers of religious incantations of various sorts, some calculated to have a weakening effect on the monster, whilst others were to give additional strength, courage, and nerve to his assailants. When he found them coming, he elevated the spines and scales on his back with pleasure at the thoughts of having a feast of men. Pitaki and his friends on arriving at the bottom, found the Taniwha quietly in his place. The brave fellow stretched forth and fastened the rope round the monster, which done he gave a pull at the line by which he had been lowered as a signal to those above, who immediately hoisted away and brought them all up, men, Taniwha, and all together; a feat however which they never could have done on account of the weight, had it not been for the karakias which they made use of.

Well they got him out at last and dragged him on shore, when some men rushed forward to attack the jaws of the fish with their weapons (the reason he is called a fish is because he came out of the water). The fame of this feat was immediately noised abroad throughout Rotorua, and the tribes all flocked together to see their enemy. He lay on shore where they had dragged him, looking just like a black whale. He was not however quite so long as a full grown whale, but more resembled a calf, or young whale.

Then they set to work to cut up this fish for food, and they cut the flesh off his ribs, which lay exposed “ like the trunk of Tane ,

When they got into his stomach they found a great number of dead bodies, just like a sepulchre of skeletons heaped together, which had been swallowed up in former days; there were whole bodies of men, women, and children ; immense numbers of mats and garments of all descriptions, besides heaps of weapons “ collected together like the wharehuata of Maui."

* The taiii is a sort of basket-work frame for diving, generally used to catch cray or other shell fish, in which the diver encased himself, with a weight attached to the bottom, so that he might be hauled up again by the rope which was held by a party on shore. <* f Tane Mahuta was the ancestor, or deified progenitor of all trees: this proverb is therefore applied to the skeleton of the monster, which is likened to the hollow trunk of an immense tree.

Then they put his body in calabashes for food and for oil, and they ate him up. But the bodies were buried in a hole in the ground. So they returned to their pa, which is called Mangungu, and this proverb was applied to them — “Turn, 0 Neck! to thy work, the eating of Taniwhas.” The Destruction of Kataroe. When the news spread amongst the settlements of Tarawera of Roto Kakahi and Okataina, the people wondered greatly at the gallantry of those men in killing this monster which fed upon mankind, and it occurred to them that there must be a Taniwha on the road to Tikitapu, because parties had been lost in travelling thence to Rotorua, and their relatives fancied they had arrived at the end of their journey ; but no, they were dead. Therefore they could not be sure whether they had been killed by a Taniwha, or by men, or by a war party when they had met. Nevertheless Tangaroa Mihi the Chief of Tikitapu and of Okareka knew that there was a Ngarara* at Tikitapu. He was not aware however that it ate men, but fancied it lived peaceably as it always appeared to do when he and his men used to go to feed it. But he was a knowing fellow, that Ngarara, and always behaved well to those who went to feed him and keep him quiet. But then when they who fed him were gone and any strangers went to travel on that road, out came the monster immediately and chased these strange men to devour them. This Ngarara was something like a domes-, ticated animal, he knew his master very well, and when his Chief Tangaroa Mihi came to him he behaved very properly and remained quite quiet; but whenever any one belonging to a different tribe passed that way, he would rush out and attack them roaring, and making a noise like the rattling of chains, in a frightful manner, and ending by devouring them altogether. Now when the people heard of the bravery of our heroes, great was their astonishment at the strength of these four chiefs. Then the chiefs of Roto Kakahi, of Tarawera, of Okataina, and of Rotorua, first understood the state of affairs. “Oho!” said they, “ there must be a Taniwha on the road to Tikitapu, to account for the disappearance of ail the travellers from this to Rotorua and from Rotorua to these five lakes ;j- for when travellers go hence by way of Okareka, they reach Rotorua in safety, and returning thence by the same way they also arrive here in safety ; but on the other hand if they go by way of Roto Kakahi and Tikitapu, they are sure to disappear.” “ Again, those travelling from or returning to Roto Kakahi by way of Pareuru arrive in safety at their destination, whilst if they make up their minds to travel by Tikitapu it is all up with them.” So they resolved in their minds, and fancied that perhaps the travellers and war parties might have been destroyed by Tangaroa Mihi; but when they sent to inquire they found he was quietly disposed. Having, therefore, heard of the bravery shown by the four chiefs in the killing of Taniwhas, they determined to send for them to search in the neighbourhood of Tikitapu. When the messenger came to these three hundred and forty brave men, they were delighted at the opportunity of resuming their employment of killing Taniwhas, and set to work to pound fern root, to dig convolvulus, to catch inanga, and to gather kakahi (a species of shell fish), for food on their journey to the mountain of Moerangi, where Kataore, the monster they were in search of, lived. At break of day they arose and breakfasted in the plain, and when they had done eating they began making speeches inciting each other to bravery, for they were not quite sure whether it was a Taniwha or the inhabitants of the land which had destroyed the parties of warriors and travellers.

They had'set out with a supply of ropes which they had spun on purpose some days previously. They were well acquainted with all the ways in the neighbouihood, wherefore they knew very well what work was before them. Having breakfasted and finished the talking, they rose up, and entered the wood, having passed through which, the priests got up and began their incantations. They also made the wino as in the former occasions. Having repeated all the karakias which they had used for H-otupuku and Pekehaua, they went on again and stopped in the low ground. The people of the pa of Tangaroa Miki were watching the party sitting below, fancying they had come to make war upon them, but their arrival was for a different purpose.

* me word Ngarara is generally used to denote a common lizard, or indeed any reptile, but in this instance it is used synomously with Tuatara in the former part of this legend (see note upon the word.) t Rotokakahi, Tarawera, Okataina, Okareka and Tikitapu.

When they had sat still for some time one of the chiefs got up and said, “ Whereabouts does this man-eating monster live? and another chief answered, “ I know not; he is either in the water or in the rocky cliff above us there.” So they searched in the lake, but lo !he was not there. However, the water had a very terrifying appearance, it was shining bright like a pounamu lake, but they could see no hole like that inhabited by Pekebaua. One of the chiefs then said, Begin with some of your karakias.” So they repeated immediately karakias such as are used to make fish boil quickly, inorder to find out where he was; whether in the water or elsewhere.

One of the Priests now rose to perform the necessary ceremonies, but no monster appeared on the surface of the waters of Tikitapu.

The leaders of the party, now ascended the cliff rehearsing their various karakias; while thus engaged, they heard the creature’s roar from the projecting cliffs of Moerangi ; they now discovered that his den was in a cleft of the rock.

The three hundred and forty men at once got up to prepare for the attack ; they were in high spirits, anticipating a substantial meal. They repeated a great many prayers known as iamangai, &c., &c. The Priests having duly performed their part, and all the ceremonies being concluded, they assembled at the-entrance of the cave where this maneater dwelt.

After some deliberation, the brave men of the party,—those who were accustomed to entrap such beasts, —seized the ropes, and went forward. They saw the creature, and oh, how terrific it looked! It eyes were the color of jet, very bright, and prominent, which gave him a most ferocious appearance. The wildness of his eye made these brave men some- I what fearful; but as to his talons, spikes, &c., they had lost their power of action, owing to the charms of the Priests. The creature became so inactive from the numerous enchantments used, that he allowed his captors to put their hands upon his head, and stroke him. They found little difficulty in passing a rope round his neck, and placing another under his fore feet. The monster being secured, these brave ones went down to their companions, who said to them, —“Haveyou fastened your ropes?” They replied, “Yes, one is round his neck, and the other round his middle.” “ How,” said their friends, “ are we to manage the ropes, and how are we to kill him ?” Some of the Chiefs replied, “ we will fasten him to trees; he cannot make much resistance; be is already bound with the ropes, and entangled in the wood.” “ How shall we go about killing him?” said they. “ Why kill him,” said some of the party, “he is bound with the ropes, and these are tied to trees; let him 'kill himself by his vain struggles. If it will be well for some of us to rush forward to 'attack him, when he is dragged to the trunks of the trees, let us do so ; if not, let him strangle himself in his efforts to escape.” This speech pleased them well. Those whose business it was to haul the ropes, now went to their posts; and when the word of command was given, they pulled away at the ropes ; the monster was forthwith dragged out of his den, making scarcely any resistance. This was in a great measure caused by the prayers and incantations of the Priests, who were very zealous in these matters, while the mass of the people were actively engaged in pulling the ropes, &c. When he was got out of his den, he flung his head about with some violence; the ropes that were fastened to the middle of his body were then slackened. He still struggled, lashing his tai], and twisting himself in various ways ; but he had not much power, the ropes round bis middle having been tightened; the tail was the only part of his body over which he had command.

Those who had weapons now rushed upon him; he was like a rat in their hands, being so firmly secured by the ropes ; they therefore quickly despatched him.

The news of this feat soon spread among the numerous tribes, who came in great numbers to Tikitapu, to see their enemy lying dead stretched out like a great whale cast up by the sea. The people who came together now gave a great shout, the noise of which was like the roaring of the waters.

On the following day, they cut up their great foe with numerous implements, made of the muscle, and other shells, and from flinty stones. The fat of the creature was like that of a hog ; and no wonder —he was not subject to any years of famine, nor did he experience any winter ; his days were spent in a perpetual harvest, as there were many companies going to and fro, upon whom he feasted, besides the portion alotted him by his master Tangaroa-Mihi. When he was cut open, many bodies of men, women, and children were found in his stomach, some whole, and some much mutilated which was occasioned by his teeth, in devouring his victims. A canoe which left a native settlement of Tiki-

tapu sometime previous to this affair TO , found in his belly; so that be mV?*’ swallowed the canoe whole, with all tl fortunate people on board. As to gar °* there were a great many found in lii tn t ? en 1 t3 ’ many kind of war implements. The b d- S ° that were taken out were buried. H, ° dies case was cut up, cooked, aud eaten. S Cat ' After this achievement, the people rf’ persed to their homes ; but the tidings of th* creature’s death soon reached Tan?aron_U:?! 3 The people said to him, “ Your pet He immediately demanded, “By whom ?" and in reply was told that the tribe NaathJ had killed him. The heart of Tangaroa-Milf now became dark on account of the death ' his favorite. This event was the origin of° l war between Tangaroa-Mihi and these brav & ones, which soon extended to all the tribes of the land. Enough. (To be continued.)