MAORI CANNIBALISM.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1976, 7 March 1885, Page 4

MAORI CANNIBALISM.

(Wasuanui Hkuai.h)

An >iT tlic List net of cannibalism that oeeure I in this colony happrm d in 184,") at Kaiwhaiki, on the A\ auganm river. A war paity, led l>y the olil Hen Hen and his tnl)o Ngatituw harctoa of Tnupo, swept down to Wang.inm, On reaching Kaiwhaihi settlement, they found it had been ibandoncd They dug up a coip«tu that Jj'iil I/eon bmied for some day, took it to the r-vir side, washed it free fiom eaith and clay, cut it up in pie< es, cooked it, ai.d ate it. Sexual natives sit now nine in YVanjjaiwi, who witnessed tliis act of cannibalism l»ut, now I think of it, I mil wioiig m sa\ing that th» above w \s about the last piece of cannibalism tint occuned in N\w Z< aland, as Tito\owaiu\s people ate, ami con vetted into soup, poitions of our men who weie killed in action. In I8(>8 lie caiiM-l a man who had Ik. cm $>hot duad in action, and who had l)eeu liuntil at the Manawapou ledoubt, to lie taken up, cooked and eaten. The following is an account of a stiangc crime committed at Murimotn some yens ago. I believe it to be a tine account of what then took plae>" A woman of Wanganui mai i ied a man fiom Tougariio, Taupo, and afteiwords went 'vith linn to live on bis lands at Mniiinotu Tiio result of this man kilt, aftei a numbci of years, was six childien, all boys In the course of time, the woman was seized with a deshe to go ami see her lelatmns at Wanganui ; so bidding hei hustuud take care of the youngster*, she btatted away on her journey.. Shortly aftei her dcpartuic a t<evere stoim came on, which for violence and duration of time, was without precedence. Snow fell heavily for ten dajs, co\eiim» the face of the country lying near the base of Runpcliu and Tonjjanro mountains, and the Pa tea and Muiiinotu plains. Day after day p.iBse>(, but still the snow fell, and buiicd, one after the other, of the plantations, kumera, and taio pits. The vciy houses even were buried, and the snow lay thick in the forest*, and on the trees In a few days time the stock of food in the house where this man li\cd with his si\ sous, Wfi3 consumed, and hiuieer stared them in tin- face. They »!«•» their way out of the hut, and gazed mound; but nothing but miow, and the line of foiest mot their view. No food was apparently procir.able, and tha fall ol snow showed no signs of abating. Two more flays n,u&cd ovut. At length the fa thei, roused to action by the ciies of his s'aixuig children, said to the youngest, "Son, let you and I goto the forest to try and get some birds and firewood, list we all starve to death." The young lad assented, and following his father's footsteps, they struck fur the nearest point of the forest. On reaching theii destination, the man said to the son, " See, theie lies a bird/ the boy turned to look, and was at once killed by a blow from liis father. The flesh was stripped from the bone", and made up into small parcels and taken back to the house and there cooked and eaten. The other children weie made to believe it was preserved bird's fleih. Time lolled on, and the man again requested another of his sons, the tifth, to accompany him to get food, and to assist him in searching fur his brother, whom he had declaicd had lost himself in the forest. On reaching the l.nsh. this lad met the fate of his bi other, the flesh was lemoved from the bones, and done up in leaves to represent Una Hua, but one limb wa* left in the foik of a tree. Back trudged the man, with his tejvible burden, which he cooked foi tood on his return. The following da\ the snow btgan to melt away befoie a waim northeily wind. Pii>a, the mother of these 1 id*, had bcci fnghtened at tlu I tad w-athii in Wanganui, and on the ln-t mjiis of dealing, she staited on her journey homeward. On ai riving at the settlement .she asked her husband how he had managed to piocuie food H c told her that lu> had picked up some frozen birds in the bush, adding, we have still some of the flesh left, you are huugiy, and, had butter eat of it." Pina^aid, "leanuot eat until I see all my cliildicn : only four are here ; where are the two youngest ':" "They weie hei e just now," replied the man. But at last he said they had lost themselves in the torest during the anoustonn, while searching for birds. Pina's suspicions were now awakened, and catching up a mat she said " I will return presently." She made straight for the bush, and in a shoit time she found the remaius of her two sous, and their heads. On her ictnrn home, she sent her husband iway on an errand to the bush, and in his absence she left for Taupo with hei family, to Bcek protection, and revenge on her husband. The presiding ohiet. on hearing her story, sent an armed party to capture or kill the man, but on reaching the settlement, he was not to be found, nor was he, they say, ever after heard of. All his land was confiscated i as payment, byordi.i,of the head chief of that district. The above facts were related during the Native Land Court heie, to pro\e how a certain block of laud came into the possession of a paitieulai family, who had based their claims to it upon ances tral titles. T. Mil).

' Charts A. Dwa man icd when he was only receiving .Idols |)cr week for literary work," n.ud C.ipt.un (Ji.iy, putt ing aside a newspaper w Inch contained a pictureand a hiogi.i pineal sketch of the pi cat journalist. 'By fJroigc, lie must have lind courage.' ' Not npcejsaiily,' replied Mr Balkans. ' Iw.h never lrg.ir ded as a man of extraoidin<iry com.igo, yet I married when I had only about Cdols in money and no income at all,' 'I should repard that as .1 \ciy courageous act.' ' No,' replied Mr BilUans' ' for you see the girl I married was worth r>o,ooodola.' 'On, just look at those beautiful melons, they fairly make my mouth water !' she exclaimed. ' They aie beauties,' he replied. • Wouldn't it be nice to take one home with us, ami put it on ice for a while, and then h.iuj it at supper !' ' Wouldn't it 1' * But,' and ho paused reflectively, • you know, though f don't believe it, they say muloim me malarious. Don't you think mnybc we'd better atop on our way home and have a nice dish of ice cream with sponge cako ?' ' Well, you know best dear. M.iybe it would be better,' she placidly replies. Aftei they walked a few blocks in fjuipt contemplation of anticipated pleasure she stops sudden and says, ' But, Alfred, I do brliove we aie two ninnies ; why, there is no ice cream saloon on the load home." " Ain't thoie ?' he says in N-ipned surprise, and adds, ' Well, it's really too bad, but it can't bo helped now, pet,' and there is .1 mild hj;ht of the unjust man made pci fectly happy in his oyei as he say^ it.

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