THE TWO TE KOOTIS.

The following letter by Captain E. Tuke, who formerly commanded the Chatham Island G-uai'd, appears in the Hawke's Say Herald : —" Sir, —Can you inform me if there is a reward for the capture of Te Kooti the second ? i, c., if the original Te Kooti was killed at Mohaka, whether the captor of the man bearing his name would be entitled to the reward of £1,000 offered by Mr. Richmond for Te Kooti the First, dead or alive? Having been for eighteen months in charge of the prisoners at the Chatham Islands, I am well acquainted with the personal appearance of Te Kooti. He is a middlesized man, with a sinister expression of countenancp, and has a slight squint. His name "Te Kooti Ririrangi," is tatooed on his left breast. He has also |a mark on his right posterior. He was apparently about 35 years of age. When at the Chatham s, Kooti was employed as steer-oar in the Government boat. He suddenly became ill, the doctor returning him on the sick report as consumptive. The natives, thinking he was going to die, asked for leave to remove him to a small whare in the bush; in fact he was put there to die. It was there he dreamt a dream that he should be the founder of a new religion, which was a mixture of Judaism, Christianity, and Hauhauism; Te Kooti, like all founders of new doctrines, gaining many converts, but most of the chiefs holding aloof. He was looked upon as a man risen from the dead, for when natives are put into whares by themselves to die they seldom recover. Bunangas then became the fashion ; for the slightest offence 3 punishments were inflicted—atone time even smoking was forbidden. Their religious services were carried to that extent that the authorities were obliged to interfere, particularly as they were informed by a young chief, Wi Muhuika, that Hauhau practices were creeping in. On this information Kooti was ordered to leave off preaching. He wrote a very humble letter to Captain Thomas and myself, stating that if it was our wish he would not preach a»ain. This he kept to ; Herewini Punairangi, killed at Ngatapa, one of the Bishop of Waiapu's former teachers, taking his place, and returning again to their old doctrines. When I left the Island in February, 1868, Kooti's fanaticism had vanished. One of the greatest errors committed by the late Government was releasing the chiefs, and from which in my opinion, emanated the many evils which followed. When these chiefs were released, all authority amongst themselves was gone. Te Kooti started their fanaticism again, and all, with the exception of three, joined him. The rest of the 9tory san oft-told tale, ns to their escape, &c. Te Kooti he Second, Karannma te Ngenga, is a tall burly savage, well tatooed on the face, about fifty years of age, and particularly well versed in Scripture. He was taken prisoner at Hungahungataroa. He fought against us at Orakau, Wailiato, and Tnranaki, and belongs to the Ngatiporou tribe. This man was one of the worst characters amongst the prisoners—in my opinion a greater villain, if possible, that Te Kooti Eirirangi."