THE DRIFTING CLOUD

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 32, 5 July 1939, Page 7

THE DRIFTING CLOUD

CAPTURE OF MOKOIA .REVENGE AT TAURANGA

In the last instalment of the adve lures of Rangi-te_ao_i*ere (The Dri ing Cloud) we left that dought warrior in the meeting house of h father's pa at Rotorua. Rangi h? ■v -come from Te Teko with a handfi -of Ngati.awa to visit hi.; father, ar he now offered his help against /t\ "Kawa_arero a strong tribe of the. or ginal people of New Zealand, wli "held Mokoia Island on Lake Rotoru and had heavily repulsed all a' 'tempts by the Arawa to wrest : "from them. The Arawa laughed at the Driftin 'Cloud when he boasted tint he an ■ jfr./ 'his 140 warriors would take the is "land, but Rangi answered them wit an arrogant Tuhoe proverb, whic on this twisted slightly M The usual form of the proverb i W -''He iti na Tuhoe, e kata te Po" 0 I 'few of the Tuhoe and Hades sha' "laugh) but when one of the Araw -asked: ranei koe, to kotahi? '(Will you alone effect this?), in th v - -punning way beloved of the Maoi "lie had answered, "He kotahi n e kata te Po'' (One of '.h Tuhoe and Hades shall laugh). FATHER'S WARNING. So Rangi made preparations to al 'tack Mokoia. His father had warne •him that it was useless to fight fror is- canoes as the enemy rushed in ani -seized them, dragged them to th •shore, and slaughtered the crews, bu Rangi had his own ideas,- so he ofc tained a huge canoe to carry, hi force to the island. He also took tw "long, strong ropes r and two long •sharp-pointed stakes. When, the cano "was launched one rope was made fas "to the bow and one to the stern am k -one stake laid in the bow and one ii r "the stern. His men then took the! I places in the canoe and paddled he out into the lake, heading for Molcoii "Te Ao-rere was drifting over Roto ' -rua; soon it was to drift over Mokoia 'the island stronghold of th* nnclen ipeople. A RED CLOAK. * "Rangi's father was with the Naatt •awa force and. as they approachec the island, the son asked his father -''By Avhat token may Kawa,-arero b« -Tecogn ! ised?' , *'By his red feather cloak" replie■' "the father. The canoe glided on. with th* Arawa canoes in line abreast behinc It. Ahead the men of Mokoia wert preparing to meet the attack, and "they could be seen wad'ng out intc the waters of the lake while behind i;hem on the beach, "conspicuous b;y Tils red feather cloak, the chief Kawn •arero stood, directing hi,«y warrior?. When the canoe reached shallow -water, the Drifting CloucT gave a word of command, and while the islanders Taced splashing through the shallOAV* towards them, the Ngati.awa forced the stake at the boiw of the canoe -deeply into the lake bed, and road'* •the bow fast thereto. canoc was -then backed out untl the line hpcame taut, and the other stake was fixed and the stern line fastened to it. Many of the crew now leaped ■overboard and seized the stern line and post, and a tug of war developed between than, and the enemy who liad seized the bow line. THE LANDING. Rnngute-ao.rere waited until most •of the islanders were hauling with all their strength on the bow line, then he gave a signal and his men cut the stern line. With the attackers at the stern hanging on ' and helping to the canoe, and the islanders * "hauling on the bow line, she darted swiftly up the beach, dashing through and over many of the enemy in -the water and grounding. Then things happened. Some of the c v ew attacked the islanders on the beach, and others turned and slew those in the water. The Arawa now joined the fight and the islanders broke and fled a_ long the beach ? pursued by their rttackers. The Drifting Cloud, disdain, ing smaller prey, went in search ot "the chief Kawa-arero.. A smal) rock stood out from the shore, and Rangi -saw a gleam of red by its side. It was the red cloak of the fugitive chief who was concealed behind the rock with only his head above water Rangi waded out to him. brought him ashore,, cut off his head, and carried his trophy back in triumph. So Moko'a w T as taken and the people of Kawa.arero ceased to exist -as a tribe

RANGI TRAPPED Rangi and h : s father lived for some time on the island until they received an invitation to attend a marriage function, at Tauranga. Then* was treachery in the air, for it will j be remembered that the■ dny after r Rangi arrived at Rotorua from Te Teko he killed a noted Tauranga fight j ing man in single combat. His peo. j pic sought to avenge his death, but j Rangi and h's people were off their 4 guard and a party journeyed to the sea coast. At Te Matapihi pa the' guests were welcomed and shown into a house, which the people of the pa surrounded. RangLte-ao-rere not. . ed the movement and said to his father "Ku a mate tatau"— (We are , dead men). So it seemed, for the ' house was set on fire from the out. side, and soon the place was In flames Rangi, casting about for a way of es cape, saw that the front of the house and the marae were obscured by dense smoke ? and he slipped through tlie window space and ran across the plaza, covered by the fumes until he had reached its far side. Then he was seen and pursued. QUICK WIT To escape he had to pass another village, and as he sped past his pur, suers cried out to the villagers: ''Look out there! Seize the man running!,, and the villagers cried out to Rangi: ''What are they saying?" Rangi was quick enough to reply, "They are calling to yovt to kill a. dog as food for the visitors," and before they had discovered the truth he was clear of the trap. Another settlement his pursuers again called out to its people to catch the fugitive, and again he escaped in a similar manner. A great runner and in the pink of condition Rangi must have - been, for he outdistanced his original pursuers and the relays of fresh runners and at length reached the forest at Oropi where he shook off hte pursuit. BACK TO MATAPIHI Now Rangi pondered as to whether he should return at once to Rotortia or go back to Matapihi to ascertain the fate of his father and companions Ho decided on the latter course, and under cover o? darkness he anproach. Ed the village. Waiting until all the people were asleep he climbed the palisades and on a wooden stage he found the severed head of his faher. A blow from his stone patu, arid the village priest who slept below had passed into the realm of the shade.. Rangi plucked a white plume from his own head, and stuck It in *he hair of his father's head, so that he might the more easily find it if Uc had to leave hurriedly,. FIERY REVENGE Then he went In search of light and dry fuel. Dry manuka lay in a heap near a cooking shed, and with every by the dim light of the moon he carried armfuls of scrub to the sleeping houses where the people lay. piling it all round the houses His task finished, as the sky paled and the dawn breeze sprang up, Rangi set fire to those houses and, taking his father's head under his arm, left the burning village behind him. That was his rcVcnge: the death of all his enemies by fire. Like many returned soldiers Rangi was not the most skilful of business men for } after he had been back in Rotorua a little time, he decided to return to his mother at Puke.tapu. Te Teko. am going to bear the emblem of my victory to the manuka (sacred spot) at Wha,katane," he said ' ''Do not divide our land, the conquered isle of Mokoia, until I return here.*' However ? when Rangi had gone, his Arawa relatives divided Mokoia among themselves, leaving him noth. ing but a rock cliff, so that when the hero returned from his visit to the Bay of Plenty he found himself out in the cold. Eventually he fettled at Te Ngae, on the mainland, where his descendants now live.