AS MAN-EATERS GO

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 284, 12 September 1938, Page 7

AS MAN-EATERS GO

A Story of Adventure Among the Maoris.

CHAPTER 9. t As we met I prayed an inarticulate prayer that our reserves would he wisely guided in' their attack, for we were a very small’ band compared with the five hundred stalwart men whom we now engaged. In the rush it was well nigh impossible to pick any particular adversary, for we were soon mixed up in a wild melee, and one had to strike only as opportunity offered something to strike at. Jostling and pushing, it was out of the question to use the cutlass, lor in the swinging of it 1 might just as easily have lopped off the ear of a friend as of an enemy, so I resorted to the mere, that deadly greenstone club so beloved of the islanders. Having taken great pains to learn the art of the mere whilst T was going through the school, I now found myself quite equal to the task of parrying the blows directed at me, while, at the same time, finding opportunity to thrust its green and shining blade under the ribs of a foeman, or to strike to the jaw or the temple. Surprising it was that I found only foemen to smite, without injuring my friends. Not far away Hiwa was foremost in the strife, hewing his way through a solid wall of Maoris and singing lustily as he went, every now and then shouting out the number lie had slain: “Three . . . Four . . . Five . . Slowly the fight resolved itself into a series of isolated combats wliQrein a score of men waged war, and hero and there duels between twos and threes. When the first rush had subsided, we found that we could not cope with the foe who, by sheer force of numbers, had wrought great havoc among our ranks, and we gradually retreated toward the eastern end of the battle ground. No one was silent during the battle, taunts and cries of exulting blood-lust being directed from either side, to intimidate the one and encourage the other. It was ever so with the Maori that while the tide of battle flowed in their favour they were brave in the extreme, but were prone to silence and panic when things were not I going their way. So it happened in this case. On our side the triumphant cries of “Mate raw a!”, by which men proclaimed a death blow, became fewer as we receded, and had it not been for thoughts of the two hundred men wo still had at command, I am inclined to the belief that we would soon have boon a broken rabble, fleeing before tho death-deal-ing strokes of the victors. It was not part of the scheme that tho Men ol Qruru should think they could thus easily overthrow us, so, at a signal from Hiwa the men stood their ground and continued to fight desperately. So far, I had escaped with no more injury than a few bruises and a slight gash on my left arm. Hiwa had a spear sticking from his thigh, and _ it trailed along the ground behind him. Mango seemed to bo entirely uninjured, despite the fact that lie was in the thickest of the fighting. Of Tu I could see no sign. And so matters stood for several minutes. Only once did I get .fc chance to fight single-handed with an opponent. Ho was a massive individual, armed with a long taiaha, a kind of hardwood battle-axe. With this weapon he despatched a man in front of me, tearing his abdomen from the. ribs downwards with one stroke of the vicious tongue. Being next in the line of fight, I was immediately honoured with "his attentions, hut when he clapped eyes on me, lie wavered. Evidently a white man among his foes was one thing he did not expect to meet that day, and the cutlass was another, for his eyes were riveted upon my frame and the blade, while I took his measure. Quick as a flash he overcame ins amazement and raised his taiaha to strike. A second time ho thrust, and this time I slashed at the weapon with all my might, cutting the shaft in two. What next might have happened I can only surmise, for at that moment I was struck on tho back of the head and fell unconscious.

With racking pains and singing ears I came back to a knowledge of life to find that tho fight had moved on some hundred paces. Our ranks had been tragically thinned, and I began to think that tho cause was lost, hut suddenly there, was a cry of dismay from the Alen of Oruru, for there, advancing at a run from either side of the battle field, were our two flanking parties. With startling ferocity they fell upon the hard-breathing northern warriors, who were now taken on three sides, the sight of these welcome reinforcements acting like a tonic on the spirits of our main body. Despite many casualties our assailants were still stronger than us in point of numbers, and to -give them their due, they fought gallantly. The advent of fresh troops, so to speak, turned the tide in our favour immediately, and for some time we more than held our own. Once more I joined the ranks and aided the men of Oromahoe as best my impaired strength would allow. A few minutes later, with a loud shout, tho remaining party fell upon our adversaries from the rear. Taken completely by surprise by this manoeuvre, they fell into still greater disorder, and before long wo perceived that they were on tho verge of defeat. Singing lustily, ITiwa’s men strode among the almost demoralised enemy, seeking those who once had invited battle, but who now were as eager to leave the scene. One by one they hastened in the direction, whence they had come, and soon they wore in full flight, not knowing how many more men we might have concealed jn the surrounding forests. Now that the field was in our hands, the elder warriors ceased their efforts, hut the younger men continued the pursuit, perpetrating deeds of barbarity that, to think upon even at this distant date, make me shudder. To have followed them was a. thing beyond me, so I (presently returned to my friends whore they lay, the exhausted living and the shattered dead. Tiring of the chase, our younger men soon returned and wo took stock of our casualties. It was a dreadful business, that sorting out of friend and foe, and I cannot dwell on it. Among

All Rights Reserved.

By J. HALKET MILLAR. :: Author of “The Bayly Murder Case."

the bodies we found weapons, many and varied, some with wonderful carving at the business end; and to me fell a taiaha with carved head and ornamented protruding tongue, and glittering eyes cut from a kind of mother-of-pearl'. ft was an emblem of rank, without which no chief travelled about, and had evidently been the property of a. man of some renown, It hangs on the wall before me as I write and carries my memory back to that day when T first went to war among the Maoris—a. .day of enduring horrors and instinctive savagery of which 1 could not plead innocence. v Throughout the remainder of that day wo rested and on the next our men began their preparations for the return home, first cutting up 'many of the bodies of the slain to he used later in the terrible cannibal orgies that- always follow these battles. (Portions of the narrative have boon omitted here. J.H.M.). Since then I have seen many such sights, but the nauseous march of- that initiating day will remain with me for ever. Glad indeed was I when we at last came in sight of the pa. As we neared the palisades several women of high rank came out to meet us, crying: “Great travellers of war, whence come ye?” “\Ve come from the land, with the food of the War God,” replied the fighters as they halted. “We have found satisfaction; we have taken vengeance.” “Is the god satisfied? Has he claimed his meat?” chanted the women. “The God of War is as great as heaven above. Ho is appeased; he rests in joy.” - , “Then may ye rest in peace also,” cried the women-in answer. Hitherto silent, the remaining people of the fortress now appeared, waving their mats and calling: “Haere mail” Welcome! Having shed blood we were all tapu, so wo approached the sacred stream beside which we had been baptised as servants of the great god and here the priests took away the tapu, after which we were permitted to mingle with the people. Never shall I forget the radiance of Ngaero’s face as I came upon her near tho huge gateway. '“The atua(gods) have been very kind, my White Heijon,” she said. “Yes, God has been kind,” I answered, and as usual I was tongue-tied, being relieved of further embarrassment by the call that food was ready for the famished men. With our prisoners and our trophies we trooped into the marae or square, tho former being hound to posts set up at the rear of the eaters. Hunger assuaged, an orator of the tana rose and related with much detail all that had happened since we left the fortress, and as lie told of the death of one and another, tho women commenced to wail mournfully, and to slash themselves with flakes of stone. This continued throughout tho recital of the victors’ deeds, when friends and relatives greeted one another by pressing noses in the salutation, hongi. x Nor did tho orator forget to tell how the. victory had been gained through the strategy of the White Heron, and sighs of wonder went, up from tho natives, more than half of whom came forward to press noses with me as a token of goodwill. My mana, my prestige, was now high with these simple folk, and I resolved to take every advantage of it, for I well knew that there were foes among these, * my friends.

In the cool of that evening I walked in tho bush with Ngaere. Though she spoke but little, there was great comfort in the tight grip she gave my hand, something I yearned for after a tumultuous week. As wo sat on a moss-cov-ered bank i glanced,up at the starbedecked sky, and beheld a bright meteor which seemed to disappear in the hills of the country where I had so lately fought. My companion noticed it, also, for she instantly rose and looked at me. “The winged omen,” she said. “It is a token.”

“And what does it betoken?” I asked. “Can you read the heavens?” “I am a daughter of chiefs, am I not? I have learned these things from the priests themselves.” “Well,” said I, thankful of a topic of conversation, “and what does this star tell you?” “it tells me that you will soon return to the north. But it is a good omen,” she hurried on as I. uttered an exclamation. “That I will go hack there? Wihat for?” I asked bewildered at tho idea of my going back fo that,hostile place. “There are many things wo may not know the full meaning of, and this i$ one of them,” said she evasively. Soon after that wo returned to the fortress, nothing further having been said on the subject, hut it was a problem with which I wrestled that night as I tossed, sleepless, on my bed of scented grasses. (To bo continued.)