CHASING MATENGA.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 9009, 19 December 1907, Page 5

CHASING MATENGA.

For the past fortnight little has been heard of Hare Matenga, and the arrival of the little field force to try and capture him has given renewed interest to the subject of "the wild man of the woods," says the Poverty Bay Herald. At first some people discredited the idea that it was Hare Matenga that had extended his field of operations, but further proof of the methods by which the different camps were robbed seemed to leave no doubt on that point, and the description given by those who saw him also tended to confirm the belief. "Why didn't they shoot him?" is the question asked by many in regard to the men who covered him with a gun. It must be remembered that although so often termed an outlaw, Hare Matenga is nothing of the kind. He might, be called a fugitive from justice, and a persistent thief, but he has done nothing that would justify his being fired on. Pie originally took to the bush because his arrest was contemplated, but it is probable that the charge in that case could not have been substantiated. The real grievance in regard to Hare was that steps were not promptly taken at the time he started his -career of pillage to have him captured, a task that could not be accomplished by the small police staff at disposal. The statement made by n Wellington paper that the present time of the year will be found ideal for camping out is not borne out by a Molu settler to whom the subject was mentioned. "They'll not be able to get a wink of sleep," was his conviction in regard to men coming from the city; and he went on to explain that they would gat a bad time with the mosquitoes and flies, which are a great nusiance at this time of the year.