AS MAN-EATERS GO

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 58, Issue 298, 28 September 1938, Page 7

AS MAN-EATERS GO

A Story of Adventure Among the Maoris. AH Rights Reserved.

By J, HALKET MILLAR. : : \ Author of “The Baylv Murder CaseT_

CHAPTER. 23. Without pausing we pushed on; how ive avoided the trunks of the trees was a marvel. Raumati knew every inch of the ground, and I had no hesitation in following at top speed where he led. There were many ,high hills, but we kept to the valleys, our route taking us along a babbling brook which we could not see, but into which we several times stepped as we ran. Long since, the cries of the warriors had ceased to ring in our ears, and now the silence was unbroken. Ry that I mean that the silence was as profound as it ever is in the New' Zealand bush at night, for night birds called plaintively as our passing disturbed their repose. Dawn broke and fouud us not more than six or seven miles from the scene of our escape, so dense was the bush through which we went, and .as the light increased I was able to form some new idea of the majesty of the growth. Trees 'Of amazing girth at the base, and rising fully, ,one hundred feet without a branch flourished in luxuriant vigour, while a variety; of palm tree, a map-lieaded thing, was to be found on all sides. Supplejacks grew to an immense length, and in places rendered the way impassable. These vines were so very elastic that we had to use great caution so that we did not too hastily quit our hold of them as w r e pushed them to one side as they flew back and struck one or other of us with no little force. Cascades, falling from great heights, were innumerable, disappearing from our view' .into the dark abysses of the ravines. Few' countries, I think, could supply the enthusiastic admirer of nature with more romantic scenes. There was no need to light a fire to cook food, for Raumati had brought a fair quantity , of cooked kumara with him, and if we had a liking for a dessert, wo had only to stretch forth our hands and help ourselves from the berries on the bushes near at hand. A fire, too!, would have been a foolish luxury it would only serve to show' our whereabouts to the Men of Oromahoe supposing they had elected to follow us. In the cool of the morning we continued our journey, but long before noon we sheltered among a thick cluster of bushes and. took a long delayed sleep, being again on foot at sundown, and walking the greater part of the night. On the second day, after pushing through forests that seemed never to have been trod by the foot of man prior to bur advent, Raumati announced i that we were nearing our destination. Wo came, in the early morning, to a river, whose surface was literally crowded 'with ducks, whose tameness enabled us to approach near enough to kill several with a stick. They made a welcome addition to our fare, and we now had no hesitation in building a fire to cook them. . So we rested throughout the day and, as the shadows began to lengthen, we rose to commence the final stage of the journey, striking off along the bank of the river, into the heart of the dying day. Before long we saw' two or three canoes, handsomely painted and decorated with feathers from stern to stem, lying on the other bank. Raumati stopped and gazed with flashing eyes at the familiar scene to which he had been denied so long. He was home! Almost at the run he covered the last few hundred yards and came opposite the landing that led to the hidden village. Our approach had been unobserved, but no sooner had Raumati raised his stentorian voice than hundreds of Maoris came over the brow of the hill in a turbulant manner to learn the cause. For a time they gaped at us as though we were spirits, but when they had recognised their former chieftain, a score of the men manned one of the canoes, paddling like madmen to our side of the river, and in an incredibly short space of time we were landed among the villagers, who were torn between anxiety for the health of their chief and curiosity regarding myself, who was the first white man, I learned, ou whom many of them had ever clapped their astonished eyes. Amid a perfect melee we set off for the fortress, where, after the confusion had died down, a furious haka was danced, followed by the melancholy wailing for joy at Raumati’s return. This lasted an hour, and I was indeed glad when Raumati took me to the marae, where a feast had been prepared for us. As we moved the populace followed us, the children, and even some of the adults, feeling my legs and pulling at my strange clothes. Next day, after a night of fitful rest, Raumati proudly, displayed the wonders of his birth-place, which I found to be in almost every particular identical with the fortress we had left. We viewed the cultivation areas just outside the pa palisades, and I found them to be laid out in the neatest order; indeed few gardens in civilised countries could show greater attention to neatness. The story of our adventures in the south was told and re-told to the assembled villagers night after night and, though I declined the invitation to address the people, beyond thanking them for their hospitality, Raumati took upon himself to tell, with shameless exaggeration, of my prowess in the field, the recital being greeted with deep sighs of. astonishment. So the days passed till we had been with the people of Oruru about three weeks, during which time I had quite established myself among them. 'There was a hitter enmity between these people and those from whom avo had lied, and the fact that we had outwitted their foes no doubt accounted for the ease with which I was accepted. 'They seemed to think, too. that it had been mainly through my instrumentality that Raumati had been restored. Now that the excitement had died down, T had more time to think of Ngaerei and my heart was sore at thought of the bravo lass who remained among her own people hut who, for all

that, might be the prey of the tohunga, Mango. I prayed devoutly that she would he protected till such time as wars and enmity ceased to ride these islanders and our happiness he complete. liaiimati had taken me one day beyond the palisades and we had lain among the fern, basking in the sun, while he recounted stories of the deeds of his hapu in past wars. The sun had set, but still we lingered in the dusk, and 1 asked him the cause of the present war-like attitude the two tribes had adopted. He replied that the Men of Oromahoe had set fire to the bush many, miles south of their place and bordering on the land belonging to the northern tribe, for the purpose of clearing the fern and bush preparatory to planting. Unfortunately, however, the wind had changed and the lire had got out of control, so that a vast area had been consumed in the flames and a wai tapu, the burial place of a chief, had been destroyed. The laws of the land had to be enforced and the tribes had gone to war, many lives having since been taken on both sides, though advantage appeared to lie with neither party. it mattered not that the fire had been accidentally caused. A raging fury had possessed them and still obtained. As I reflected on the fiiclde excuses these people settle upon for a war, liaumati suddenly clutched my arm and pointed, and I turned in time to see a figure disappear over a low hill. Though the light was poor, 1 instantly recognised the man for Tu! I could have told his form in a thousand, and the sight of him gave me a shock that set my veins atingle. For an instant we sat there, and then sprang to our feet and gave chase through the fern. Coming to the place where we had seen the disappearing Tu, we glanced about but there was nothing to bo seen that would indicate the presence of anyone, and wo heard no movement, though we listened intently. - “There is only one reason for his being here,'’ said liaumati when we had given up hope of locating the prowler. “I agree with you,” I replied, “but what is to be done? We must call your men and search every yard of this land till he is found.” i “It is too late. Before they could get here, Tu would have had a considerable advantage, and if it means that he is accompanied by a war party, it would he folly to run the searchers into an aipbusli. The pa must be protected, too.” There was mischief afoot. Why had Tu come to this vicinity ? Was he the advance of a. tana ? It seemed more than likely, for the Men of Oromahoe had been in a warring mood when we quitted their fortress. Hastening hack to the fortress we gave the alarm, but such was the organisation of the place that there was little confusion among the inhabitants as they went about their preparations to meet an attack. The night passed and dawn found us all at our posts, expectant, heavy-eyed for want of sleep after the vigil, but I without having seen a sign of the enemy. As the sun rose, many left their points of vantage and slept, while the remainder carried on, every eye turned to the short declivity up which the attackers must come to reach the pa. That day and the following night passed without incident and our tense attitude relaxed, though no one left the pa gates. Having rested, Raumati and I volunteered to reconnoitre the position, and after having partaken of food, we sallied forth, the great carved gate slamming to as we crossed. We had not gone far when an idea occurred to me that if the slope down which we walked were the only way to get at tlie pa, some line of defence there might be invaluable, but we had carried out a three hours’ search in the bush and were returning to the fortress before a plan had formed itself. Throughout the remainder of the day and the night I turned it over in my mind and when the next day was at hand, J rose with it fully developed. With the consent of the chiefs who were influenced somewhat by Raumati and his account of my stratagem in the great battle in which 1 had taken part some time before, I set every available man to the task of collecting boulders from the liver bed and from the country around, the larger the boulders the better for my scheme. These were dumped about fifty feet from the gate of the pa, and with the aid of Raumati and one or two others, I began to build a solid wall, several feet thick. Commencing at the outer edges, we piled the great stones toward the centre, leaving a gap of perhaps six feet. When the walls on either side had grown to the height of a man, wo took stout posts and placed them in a perpendicular position, with oue long rough-hewn plank across the top, so as to form a sort of bridge, and once more piled the stones on top and to the rear of the wall, toward the gateway. This work completed, I called for strong ropes, one for each of the upright posts, and attached them with some caro to the tops, afterwards leading the ends back through the gate where they were secured to stakes - . It now only wanted a smart pull on each of the ropes to dislodge the posts when down would come the boulders, to roar down the slope, and, in that confined space filled with, warriors, to take a heavy toll. Tim scheme was complete, and I oven found myself hoping the Men of Oromahoe would attack at an early date that ! might try out the device. So does one’s environment act upon a peaceful soul! It was while the mi! ires were assembled in the marae alter the morning meal on the following day that we received iiews of the do.so proximity ol our enemies. A runner dashed inlo I In* marae wilh the news that throe* slaves who had been out gathering firewood had been surprised and killed, the messenger

himself having barely escaped with the tidings. His face and body were besmeared with blood that had dried on tho skin, while it also flowed from his many wounds. How the man lived through if was a matter for great wonder. hut those men were able In sustain a wound 11 1 a I would kill a white man of shock. Tho news told, the conch shells were sounded as a. token that, tho tribe was prepared for battle, and opee more we lined I lie palisades to await the attack. (To he continued.)