Bush Lawyer.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 151, 27 June 1936, Page 5 (Supplement)

Bush Lawyer.

By ENID B. V. SAUNDERS,

ONCE upon a time there was a beautiful valley. It had grass slopes slipping down to „a river,' miniature forests of supplejacks with berries shining scarlet and rounded among the leaves; rama-rama with its pointed star-flowers soft against the dimpled foliage; broom and bracken and wild, sweet-smelling purple thyme; and a river flowing down to the sea. Across the river the hills were ablaze with an autumn pageantry of birch—dwarfed, windswept bushes of birch; tall, satinstemmed trees of birch—bronze-red fire on every height and headland and merging into a pall of smoky grey higher up the valley, whence th-? river had its source in a little stream that trickled down a dozen different ways to the waterfall in the rocks, a waterfall that flashed showers of raindrops over the boulders and enticed the tnrehu, the fairy folk, to bathe in its moon-silvered mists of spray. A myriad spreading roots were disclosed by the passage of the water, the liverworts and mossj« flourished in pleasurable greenness within the crevices and jewelled flies darted across the ripples. Twigs and leaves and tiny sticks, all the floating jetsam of a stream, were carried down past the prosperous village of Naru and his people. Surely it was the most beautiful place in the land. Only one thing spoilt it, and that was the taniwha or tuoro which lived in a tunnel away under the earth. He was a ferocious creature, this taniwha, with jagged brown claws and a wriggling tail and a body covered in slimy green scales, but the most loathsome part of him was his head, for, besides being immensely ugly, it had gaping jaws and rows and rows of sharp, white teeth, and whenever a person strayed far from the village he came out of his cave and devoured him at once. Naru the chief offered the reward of a large piece of land and the promise of his daughter in marriage to whomsoever should slay the taniwha. Immediately the first warrior went in the direction of the underground opening the dragon snapped him up. The second warrior met with a similar fate, and the third and the fourth and each successive warrior, until more than 20 brave fighting men had fallen victims to the tuoro. Then came Kiri Apiti to Naru the king, and Naru was grieved that one so young and so handsome should go forth to die, and lie tried to dissuade him. But Kiri firmly upheld he would rather be slain by the monster than have taunts of cowardice flung at him because he preferred ease and safety to facing danger. Seeing he wouid not be drawn from his resolve Naru wisely ceased any further attempts at persuasion and ordered his men to equip the youth with whatever he required for the contest. Her father having recounted to her the greater part of his interview with Kiri" Apiti. Ina, the daughter of Naru. was eager to see this courageous new suitor and before the end

of their first meeting she was already in love with him. She had mourned the loss of other warriors, but tlie'r death had not vitally affected her. i'oiv, like the dart of a hawk upon its prey, realisation came to her and with that realisation the desperate need for finding some way of helping Kiri to outwit the taniwha. All night long she lay awake, restlessly thinking, scheming, until by dawn her keen woman's mind had evolvi.'l a plan. Much to everyone's astonishmert Kiri spent the entire day snaring birds in the forest —wekas and kirios and kiwis in abundance—and when he returned he commanded fresh fuel to be thrown on the fires so that the food could be cooked during the night. And the people began murmuring amongst themselves. "What manner of warrior is this who goes pleasuring all day and neglects even to sharpen his weapons?" But Naru was satisfied Kiri Apiti knew what he was about and doubled the amount of his previous offer of land by way of encouragement. Next day when the sun had risen high up in the sky Kiri directed five slaves to carry the provisions he had pre-' pared and set thein down in an open space some distance from the village. Then, making strange mutterings to himself he produced a calabash from under the folds of his cloak and poured out a peculiar, whitish-col-

oured liquid over the feast before he -etreated to a more secure position behind a tree. The food being hot and delieiously browned through long and careful cooking, the tuoro wn? soon lured thither by the appetising smell and promptly snapped up everything in his huge inouth and looked round for more. Suddenly he gave a great yawn. Lurching sideways lie fell down in a heap ana Kiri rushed out from his hiding place and cut off his head. Naru made haste to fulfil his promise in a be fit.tin" manner, and the people all danced and shouted and acclaimed him the greatest hero of their tribe; but Kiri held that the praise belonged to Ina, his wife, for she alone had thought of giving the taniwha a sleeping potion and killing hiin while he slept. The blood of the monster formed a shallow red pool that soaked into the earth, and from the place whence it had lain rose up the climbing plant which we call bush lawyer. Its flowers are vliite and numerous like the taniwha's teeth, and its leaves ii.o green and hard like the taniwha s scales, and every stem and spray of it is covered with sharp, brown thorns; and always it lurks in gully and forest to entrap the unwary, menacing settler and traveller alike, just as '"the taniwha or tuoro once menaced the most beautiful valley in the island.