A MAORI'S REVENGE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 152, 5 January 1871, Page 7

A MAORI'S REVENGE.

The Opunake correspondent of the " Taranald Herald " relates the following: — "A native related a very interesting and romantic incident lately, which, if true, and I have no reason to doubt it, proved him to be possessed of no ordinary mind, as, under circumstances of great temptation, he had the opportunity of smartly retaliating for some base treatment, but, instead, took a more noble revenge. His story is briefly as follows : — Some years ago, before the disturbance at Patea, I was travelling with a companion to Wanganui. When within nine miles of that to'nn darkness overtook us, and it rained heavily, and as t^ere was every appearance of it? 'being a stormy night, we were I'o.Lhii 1 perplexed what MUM should do to obiaia food and shj^^H as it was nrmssible to rea^^^^H destination (jo/ >ught. To ouj|^^^^H lief, we obs(;r\ . >' ;i light 'in th^^^^^^H we were yi,G" c lrt, and we said'this\if :' ■- nquge^MpHUH wo shall tii . ' c! ■- i food and shelteiT fo^ 1 ''• we speedily gained, ■ ,•_ 'iO .^o . Knocked at the door. Thg pake!, opened it, and asked us what we wanted. I said, 'We are wet and hungry and have no shelter, will you allow us rest here this night and give us food.' The pakeha said no, be off and sleep in the flax. I said very good we s"hall sleep in the flax ; so we slept in the flax that night, and in the morning we departed on our journey. Two years after, a pakeha rode up to our pali, and I saw at once that it was the same pakeha who had l-efused us shelter when we journeyed to Wanganui. He called out where is my whare? Where is my food % Where shall I put my horse % I spoke to the man, and said you shall sleep in the flax and find your food in the fern ; at this he seemed displeased and provoked. I asked him if he new me ? He said he did not. I then asked him if he recollected two natives calling at his honse one wet night, cold, wet, and hungry, and asking him for food and shelter, which he refused, aud bade them sleep in the flax. He did not reply, but I saw by his face that he recollected the circumstance. He prepared to depart. I said this is not the way of the Maoris — you shall | have both food and shelter, and in the morning depart on your way ; so I told ray people provide him a whare and food, and to tether his horse. The pakeha departed in the morning, and I saw his face no more. Having expressed my disapprobation at the conduct of the pakeha, he said that all pakehas were not like him. There was one good pakeha near Wanganui who alwaj^s givestheMaori food andshelter, whether there was one or ten Maoris he would not allow them to pass his house at night. Being anxious to ascertain the the resxilt of such hospitality on Maori nature, I enquired how he fared during the late war, — whether his house was burned and his property destroyed, but I found that the generous pakeha had previously departed from thedistrict, Two years ago this native took a prominent part as an active confederate of Tito Kowaru. What a perplexing pi oblem is human nature .'